Medical journals

This chapter explores the content of medical journal articles, and some of their uses for historians of psychiatry. Their many strengths and weaknesses are discussed. While medical journals contain huge amounts of varied information (research articles, correspondence, editorials, advertisements, and more) the processes through which the material has been selected, reviewed, and edited are extremely opaque and not readily accessible to historians. Medical journal articles provide an accessible initial entry-point for the naming of new syndromes, controversies over treatments, or discussions about legislation. Much of the material they contain is attributable and precisely dated. They nevertheless contain many traps and pitfalls for the unsuspecting researcher, as the rejections, the advertising copy, the conflict of peer review, and the vast number of editorial decisions are hidden from view. The tightly regulated structure of most research articles, which erases much uncertainty in favour of strong, distinct findings, is often frankly misleading. Whilst most journals are online, digitised, and keyword searchable, this is not the case for everything, so much caution is advised when generalising.