Anonymous editorials in biomedical research journals: Few in number but potentially problematic

Abstract

Key points Editorials are typically brief comments by a journal's chief editor or associate editors on journal news, study findings, or trends in science or practice. Anonymous editorials, which account for 1%–3% of editorials indexed in PubMed, are those in which the author's name is absent or replaced by the journal's name. Chief editors cannot be assumed to be the authors of anonymous editorials, which causes multiple issues. Anonymous editorials prevent readers from assessing the author's potential conflicts of interest and their credibility for discussing the editorial's topic. Anonymous editorials also make credit and accountability for ideas in editorials difficult to establish and increase likelihood of authorship misattribution. This article proposes that editorials be published with the names, affiliations, and potential conflicts of interests of the individuals who author them.