25 September 2020
Call for Submissions:
To address the bias toward the publication of novel positive results
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) and the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease (JPD) invite researchers to “open their notebooks” and submit unpublished results from experiments that attempted to replicate previously published findings from other laboratories.
By encouraging the rapid peer-review and publication of these datasets, we hope to increase the available information around previously published, high-impact findings. Applicants will submit a two-page “Pre-submission” to MJFF for initial review. Successful applicants will be invited to submit a manuscript to JPD for peer review. Manuscripts passing peer review will be published in JPD. There will be no publication or Open Access fees for papers selected for publication.
What Fits:
Applicants should submit data resulting from direct, or very close conceptual replications of one or more key experiment(s) from high-impact publications within the Parkinson’s field. Plus:
• Studies should have appropriate statistical power, controls and characterization of reagents, biosamples, and laboratory models.
• The replication study must have been performed by a group or group(s) independent of those that published the original study.
• Replication studies, whether negative or positive, should attempt to clarify any points of contention around original findings and/or provide reasonable explanations for deviations from the original finding.
• Submitted studies should have attempted to replicate results published from 2015 onward.
• Datasets spanning the entire spectrum of Parkinson’s disease research are eligible to be submitted via this mechanism, but will be prioritized based on the impact of the finding being replicated and their scientific rigor.
MJFF will only consider completed datasets and analyses seeking to directly or conceptually replicate previously published findings.
Important Dates:
Apply and submit via the MJFF website bearing in mind the following dates:
• Pre-submission deadline: October 22, 2020
• Full manuscript invitations: November 20, 2020
• Invited manuscripts due date: January 8, 2020
Further Information: bit.ly/JPD-MJFF
(Initially announced via Twitter on August 18, 2020: see here)
