WHAT IS AN ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION IN THE F IELDS OF PSYCHOSOMATIC-MEDICINE AND PSYCHOTHERAPY

The scientific work of physicians and psychotherapists is largely base d on the quantity and quality of their published original contribution s. This article aims to define the criteria for original contributions in the fields of psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy. Two litera ture searches and one explorative analysis are carried out: a) an eval uation of instructions for contributors from 23 recognised journals b) a literature search of the term ''peer review'' and c) a survey of 20 colleagues in various specialised fields. It was shown that criteria for original contributions and the review process for submitted manusc ripts are less clear for psychosomatic/psychotherapeutic oriented jour nals than for journals in the somatic field. The opinions of physician s in the field of psychosomatics on the characteristics of an original contribution are less concrete than those from physicians in the fiel d of internal medicine. Suggestions are made on the basis of the three analyses for criteria for original contributions and for the improvem ent of the review process.