%0 Journal Article
%T In the Future, Data and Code Should Be FAIR
%J -
%D 2019
%R https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cels.2019.02.001
%X Setting journal policies takes time. When I believe I¡¯ve settled on one, John Pham, the Editor-in-Chief of Cell, helps me think about it more clearly. A few months ago, I asked John, ¡°Should a study be rejected simply because its n is very small?¡± I was expecting John to say yes, but instead, he turned my question on its head. The question he posed in return was, ¡°Is a study ever so thought provoking that it needs to be published even if the n is very small?¡± John¡¯s pointed, careful, and hopeful observations about these questions helped me recognize that there are good reasons to answer ¡°yes¡± and ¡°no¡± to both. Playing through them reveals a tension between being a protective custodian of science on one hand and facilitating progress on the other. Consistency, standards, and rigor are front of mind when you're a protective custodian, but flexibility, creativity, and exploration need to be supported in order to facilitate progress. Somehow, journal policy must both protect science and help it grow
%U https://www.cell.com/cell-systems/fulltext/S2405-4712(19)30035-3