TY - JOUR T1 - Is email a reliable means of contacting authors of previously published papers? A study of the <em>Emergency Medicine Journal</em> for 2001 JF - Emergency Medicine Journal JO - Emerg Med J SP - 352 LP - 353 DO - 10.1136/emj.20.4.352 VL - 20 IS - 4 AU - F O’Leary Y1 - 2003/07/01 UR - http://emj.bmj.com/content/20/4/352.abstract N2 - 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. ER -