A Plea for Neutral Comparison Studies in Computational Sciences

TL;DR

This paper advocates for the increased use of neutral comparison studies in computational sciences to objectively evaluate methods and establish standards, highlighting their importance akin to clinical research.

Contribution

It emphasizes the need for unbiased comparison studies in computational sciences and discusses their role in improving scientific rigor and method evaluation.

Findings

Comparison studies are undervalued in computational sciences.

Neutral studies help establish objective standards.

They are crucial for scientific progress and method validation.

Abstract

In a context where most published articles are devoted to the development of "new methods", comparison studies are generally appreciated by readers but surprisingly given poor consideration by many scientific journals. In connection with recent articles on over-optimism and epistemology published in Bioinformatics, this letter stresses the importance of neutral comparison studies for the objective evaluation of existing methods and the establishment of standards by drawing parallels with clinical research.