Publishing Raw Data and Real Time Statistical Analysis on e-journals

One of our own Ultrasound@OBGYN.net participants has published an article in the British Medical Journal proposing the use of electronic publication to include the original data with research articles. The article, by David J R Hutchon, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist. Memorial Hospital, Darlington, County Durham DL3 6HX, proposes several advantages to having the original data available to the readers:

"Potential advantages of providing raw data and statistical software within the web version of a published paper include:

• Raw data remain available in the foreseeable future for other workers to analyze further 
• The data can be easily copied into other applications, making analysis by others a practical proposal 
• The data are available for effective meta-analysis 
• The statistical analysis is available to be checked by peer reviewers and readers 
• Internet publication has in practical terms unlimited capacity for data storage 
• Most journals will support a web version in the next few years. "

This is an innovative and new approach to publishing research, and should help to validate research results. The Internet and Web do make this a reasonable proposition, and will be of interest to the OBGYN.net community. The article is titled and can be found at:

"Publishing raw data and real time statistical analysis on e-journals" (http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/322/7285/530) 

Congratulations to David on the publication of this unique idea.

David Hutchon long has been a participant of OBGYN.net and is an Editorial Advisory Board member . David is innovator of Web applications, and he has authored a large collection of clinically useful calculators for obstetrics, gynecology, and biomedical statistics. These can be seen, accessed and used from the Ultrasound section of OBGYN.net at: http://www.obgyn.net/us/us.asp  (scroll toward the bottom of the page). His approach to fetal size/age analysis through Web based tools is a tribute to his skill and desire to help improve world health. All of this has been done with out expectation of personal remuneration or reward... it has been an altruistic act that has the potential of benefiting ultrasound everywhere. David is truly a leader pointing to a future of improved global communications and health care.

It is an honor to have a person as dedicated and skilled as David Hutchon associated with Ultrasound@OBGYN.net. I count him among my virtual friends... though we have never met face to face. His works speak to his creativity and character. 

Terry J DuBose, M.S. RDMS, APS
Chair, Ultrasound Section of OBGYN.net