@article {O{\textquoteright}Leary352, author = {F O{\textquoteright}Leary}, title = {Is email a reliable means of contacting authors of previously published papers? A study of the Emergency Medicine Journal for 2001}, volume = {20}, number = {4}, pages = {352--353}, year = {2003}, doi = {10.1136/emj.20.4.352}, publisher = {British Association for Accident and Emergency Medicine}, abstract = {Objectives: To determine whether it is possible to contact authors of previously published papers via email. Methods: A cross sectional study of the Emergency Medicine Journal for 2001. Results: 118 articles were included in the study. The response rate from those with valid email addresses was 73\%. There was no statistical difference between the type of email address used and the address being invalid (p=0.392) or between the type of article and the likelihood of a reply (p=0.197). More responses were obtained from work addresses when compared with Hotmail addresses (86\% v 57\%, p=0.02). Conclusions: Email is a valid means of contacting authors of previously published articles, particularly within the emergency medicine specialty. A work based email address may be a more valid means of contact than a Hotmail address.}, issn = {1472-0205}, URL = {https://emj.bmj.com/content/20/4/352}, eprint = {https://emj.bmj.com/content/20/4/352.full.pdf}, journal = {Emergency Medicine Journal} }