Two papers commenting on a recent proposal to require registration of observational epidemiological studies have just been published electronically on OEM’s web site. These commentaries offer differing views as to what should be done, but neither is a statement of this journal’s policy.

We currently do not require observational research submitted to OEM to be registered and we have no plans to do so. This position is based primarily on the belief that observational studies are fundamentally different from clinical trials in both objectives and scientific approach.

I will explain the Journal’s policy and the reasons behind it in a future issue of the printed journal. Readers are also invited to give their opinions on whether observational studies should be registered in contributions to the OEM blog.

Dana Loomis
Editor