A bibliometric analysis of the spine journals

BackgroundSpine is a rapidly growing branch with fully-dedicated peer-reviewed journals. Journal impact factor (JIF), speed of publication, and readership are some critical factors affecting the author’s choice for submission. This study aimed to find the bibliometric data of spine journals.MethodFourteen Spine journals in NCBI (National centre for Biotechnology information, USA) database, meeting the inclusion criterion were analyzed for original articles, collected via stratified sampling from each issue of the journal. The dates to submission (DS), acceptance (DA), and publication (DP), study design, corresponding author’s details like-subject specialization and country of affiliation were recorded for each original article. Data on JIF, number of issues/years, open access availability (OA), article processing charges (APC) were also retrieved. Correlation and geographic plot were used to display the findings.ResultsThe median (interquartile range) time for submission to publication/total time (TT) in spine journals was 175 (120–313) days with a submission to acceptance time of 107 (66–168) days and acceptance to publication time of 54 (20–170). Fifty-seven percent of the journals had APC, and all had options for OA. A significant correlation was noted between all determinants of publication speed and the Scimago Journal rankings (SJR) (AT: r = 0.238, PT: r = 0.074, TT: r = 0.288, p < 0.001). Amongst the author affiliations, the USA (37.5%) and Japan (18.6%) had the maximum contributions. Furthermore, 57.4% of authors were orthopaedicians, and 14.4% were neurosurgeons. Retrospective and prospective cohort studies were the standard study designs (48% vs. 20.9%), while clinical trials accounted for 5.8%.ConclusionSpine journals had comparable publication speed with other biomedical journals; all spine journals had OA options. Observational study dominates the pattern in spine research. The contribution is mainly from orthopaedician, but the trend is changing towards collaborative research with neurosurgeons.     

Impact Factors und Publikationszeitspannen in urologischen Fachzeitschriften

The impact factor, cited half-life, and immediacy index are three important methods that can be used to demonstrate how a journal’s articles are cited over the course of a specific time span. These three factors thus represent instruments for measuring the importance and reputation of a scientific magazine. The goal of our study was to evaluate the constancy of journals specialized in the field of urology and to analyze those listed in the 2005 Journal Citation Report (JCR) using the standardized methods specified by the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) and JCR. Primarily we wanted to examine the different time spans needed for publication of original papers submitted to certain journals; in more exact terms: the time span from submission of an article or original paper to its publication and from the time of acceptance of an original paper or article to its publication in a urological journal. Furthermore, we wanted to investigate the dynamics of urological journals regarding their impact factors for the years 2000–2005. The study was performed using the ISI JCR and the library as well as the online library of the Friedrich Alexander University in Erlangen. A very satisfactory development can be observed in the field of urology with the standardized methods of the (ISI) JCR.     

Analysis of bibliographic citations received by Spanish anesthesiologists for work indexed by Science Citation Index, 1988-2002

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the international impact of articles published by authors in Spanish anesthesiology departments. METHOD: Citable articles indexed by Science Citation Index between 1988 and 2002 and authored by members of Spanish departments of anesthesiology were considered. Citations were counted 2 years and 5 years after publication. Authors and institutions were ranked according to number of citations received. We also determined the journals Spanish anesthesiologists most often chose for publishing their work. RESULTS: Of the 322 citable articles identified, 61.8% were cited in the 2 years following publication (total 587 citations), and 79.5% were cited within 5 years (total 1472 citations). The most frequently cited articles received 17 citations in 2 years and 45 in 5 years after publication. Articles from the Department of Anesthesiology of Hospital Clinic i Provincial of Barcelona received the largest number of citations (333 citations in 5 years). The author with the highest rate of citations received 11.57 per article. The author with the largest number of citations received 86. Anesthesia & Analgesia was the journal publishing the largest number of articles by Spanish anesthesiologists (35 articles). CONCLUSION: This citation analysis shows the international impact of publications by Spanish anesthesiologists.     

Impact factors and publication time spans in urological journals

The impact factor, cited half-life, and immediacy index are three important methods that can be used to demonstrate how a journal's articles are cited over the course of a specific time span. These three factors thus represent instruments for measuring the importance and reputation of a scientific magazine. The goal of our study was to evaluate the constancy of journals specialized in the field of urology and to analyze those listed in the 2005 Journal Citation Report (JCR) using the standardized methods specified by the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) and JCR. Primarily we wanted to examine the different time spans needed for publication of original papers submitted to certain journals; in more exact terms: the time span from submission of an article or original paper to its publication and from the time of acceptance of an original paper or article to its publication in a urological journal. Furthermore, we wanted to investigate the dynamics of urological journals regarding their impact factors for the years 2000-2005. The study was performed using the ISI JCR and the library as well as the online library of the Friedrich Alexander University in Erlangen. A very satisfactory development can be observed in the field of urology with the standardized methods of the (ISI) JCR.     

Declining proportion of publications by American authors in major anesthesiology journals

A decline in the proportion of articles published by American authors in medical journals has been reported. We therefore sought to determine whether the contributions of authors from the United States to the three leading anesthesia journals changed between the years 1980 to 2000. The journals Pain, Anesthesiology, and Anesthesia & Analgesia were selected for evaluation on the basis of their respective impact factors. All clinical studies and basic science studies published in the years 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, and 2000 were evaluated. The country of origin of the lead author of each article was determined by two of the investigators. chi(2) Tests and least squares linear regression analyses were used to determine associations between the source of publication (United States or abroad) and year of publication. The proportion of American publications in the leading anesthesia specialty journals was found to be decreasing over the period 1980-2000 because of an increase in the rate of publication from abroad that is disproportionate to the increase in the total number of publications in the journals over that time. The reasons for changes in anesthesia-related publications by American authors were not established by this study. The authors speculate that multiple factors are involved, including an increased emphasis on clinical care over research because of economic constraints, American publication in journals other than the leading specialty journals, and the increased quality of submissions from abroad.     

First Turkish neurosurgical journal (1936-1947): Modern Cerrahi ve nöroşirürji mecmuasi

The publication of neurosurgery-related journals began in the late 1920s. Most of these journals are of Estonian, German, English, American, and French origin. The appearance of such journals is related to the development of neurosurgery and the number of neurosurgeons. This study presents a neurosurgical journal, Modern Cerrahi ve n?ro?irürji mecmuasi (Journal of Modern Surgery and Neurosurgery), published between 1936 and 1947 in Turkey. The contents of the journal and some selected articles are also presented. The existence of this journal, which was published before most Western neurosurgical journals, should be regarded from a historical point of view.     

Reporting of ethical approval and informed consent in clinical research published in leading anesthesia journals

BACKGROUND: Ethical conduct in human research in anesthesia includes approval by an institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee and informed consent. Evidence of these is sometimes lacking in journal publications. METHODS: The authors reviewed all publications involving human subjects in six leading anesthesia journals for the year 2001 (n = 1189). Rates of IRB approval and informed consent were examined and compared with potential predictors that included journal, type of publication, and patient demographics (age, sex, elective or emergency status). Rates were compared by use of chi-square and logistic regression. RESULTS: The authors found that IRB approval was documented in 71% of publications and consent was obtained in 66% of publications. Significant variation in IRB approval and consent was found among journals (P < 0.0005) and according to type of publication (P < 0.0005). Because publication type affected rates of IRB approval and consent (trials > mechanistic studies > observational studies > case reports), an analysis restricted to prospective studies also found a significant difference in IRB approval and consent among journals (P < 0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that rates of IRB approval and informed consent vary among publications in anesthesia journals. Clearer guidelines (and author adherence) for all types of publication are needed, both as a protection for research subjects and to maintain public trust in the process.     

International scientific communications in the field of colorectal tumour markers

AIM To analyze scientometrically the dynamic science internationalization on colorectal tumour markers as reflected in five information portals and to outline the significant journals, scientists and institutions.METHODS A retrospective problem-oriented search was performed in Web of Science Core Collection(Wo S), MEDLINE, BIOSIS Citation Index(BIOSIS) and Scopus for 1986-2015 as well as in Dervent Innovations Index(Derwent) for 1995-2015. Several specific scientometric parameters of the publication output and citation activity were comparatively analyzed. The following scientometric parameters were analyzed:(1) annual dynamics of publications;(2) scientific institutions;(3) journals;(4) authors;(5) scientific forums;(6) patents-number of patents, names and countries of inventors, and(7) citations(number of citations to publications by single authors received in WoS, BIOSIS Citation Index and Scopus).RESULTS There is a trend towards increasing publication output on colorectal tumour markers worldwide along with high citation rates. Authors from 70 countries have published their research results in journals and conference proceedings in 21 languages. There is considerable country stratification similar to that in most systematic investigations. The information provided to end users and scientometricians varies between these data-bases in terms of most parameters due to different journal coverage, indexing systems and editorial policy. The lists of the so-called "core" journals and most productive authors in Wo S, BIOSIS, MEDLINE and Scopus along with the list of the most productive authors-inventors in Derwent present a particular interest to the beginners in the field, the institutional and national science managers and the journal editorial board members. The role of the purposeful assessment of scientific forums and patents is emphasized. CONCLUSION Our results along with this problem-oriented collection containing the researchers' names, addresses and publications could contribute to a more effective international collaboration of the coloproctologists from smaller countries and thus improve their visibility on the world information market.     

Publication Rates in Podium and Poster Presentations at the 2012-2014 American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons Annual Meetings

Background

Subspecialty conferences are an important forum for disseminating the latest research relevant to clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to identify publication rates in podium and poster abstracts for the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) Annual Meeting and to identify the most common journals of publication and the reasons for nonpublication.

The first ten years of The Foot: a retrospective analysis of publication patterns, 1991–2000

Background: The Foot commenced publication in 1991 to provide an international forum for clinical foot and ankle research. As the journal has just reached the end of its first decade, it is timely to look back and review publication patterns over this time.Methods: A retrospective analysis of every paper published in The Foot between 1991 and 2000 was undertaken. Articles were evaluated to determine the article type (i.e.: original research, literature review, case report, etc), the topic area, the country of origin of the primary author and the professional background of the primary author.Results: The majority of papers published have been original research (44%), followed by case reports (32%) and literature reviews (18%). The topic area of papers has been diverse, covering 23 different categories, with most papers pertaining to foot surgery (27%). Authors from 27 different countries have published in the journal, with most papers submitted by authors from the UK (67%). The most frequent publishers in the journal were orthopaedic surgeons (63%), followed by podiatrists (25%). Between 1991 and 2000, there has been a steady increase in the number of papers published by podiatrists, and a small increase in the number of papers published by authors outside the UK.Conclusions: These results confirm the status of The Foot as a truly international, multidisciplinary forum for the publication of clinical foot and ankle research.     

Expected versus real impact factors of publications from Spanish departments of anesthesiology (1991-1996)

OBJECTIVE: To identify publications by Spanish anesthesiologists in journals indexed by Journal Citation Report from 1991 through 1996; to count the number of citations received and compare the results with the impact factor (IF) of the journals in which they were published. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Articles for which the first author was a member of a Spanish anesthesiology department were searched for in MEDLINE, Science Citation Index and EMBASE. Only publications for which the IF was known were included for analysis. We then counted the number of citations each article received over the two years following publication, recording the source journal in which the citation appeared and country of origin of each citing author.We then calculated the real IF (RIF) of each article, the RIF of all the Spanish articles, and the mean RIF. Also calculated for each article was the expected IF (EIF), based on the IF of the source journal, the overall EIF and the mean EIF. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-two articles were published; 49 of them were letters to the editors. Specialist anesthesiology journals published 72.7%. A total of 186 citations were received. American authors cited the articles more often than did other Spanish authors. Thirty-seven citations (19.9%) were self-citations. Ninety-two articles (53.5%) were never cited.With letters to the editor excluded, the RIF was 85.48 and the global EIF was 213.28; the mean EIF was 1.734 and the RIF was 0.695. Therefore, the rate of citation of the Spanish authors in the period studied was only 40% of the citation rate of the entire population of authors from all countries. The authors of the published articles worked mainly in hospitals in Barcelona, Madrid, La Coru?a, Valencia, Cantabria and Murcia. Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol (Badalona, Barcelona) had the largest number of publications and the highest EIF (39.41). Hospital del Mar (Barcelona) had the highest mean RIF and the highest global RIF.A gradual increase in the annual productivity of Spanish scientists can be discerned in a progressive increase in the number of publications as well as their EIF and RIF. CONCLUSIONS: Research by Spanish anesthesiologists is concentrated in only a few hospitals. Although the number of publications is increasing, their international repercussion has still not reached the desired level.     

Relationship between journal impact factor and levels of evidence in anaesthesia

Evidence-based medicine uses a hierarchy of publication types according to their vulnerability to bias. A widely used measure of journal "quality" is its impact factor, which describes the citation rate of its publications. We investigated the relationship between impact factor for eight anaesthesia journals and publication type with respect to their level of evidence 1-4 using Spearman rank correlation (rho). There were 1418 original publications during 2001 included in the analysis. The number (%) of publication types according to evidence-based medicine level were: level 1:6 (0.4%), level 2:533 (38%) level 3:329 (23%), level 4:550 (39%). There was no correlation between journal ranking according to impact factor and publication type (rho =-0.03, P=0.25). The correlation between journal rank and the proportion of publications that were randomized trials was -0.35 (P<0.001). The correlation between journal rank and number of publications was 0.65 (P<0.001). The correlation between journal rank and number of level 1 or 2 studies was 0.58 (P<0.001). The overall level of evidence published in anaesthesia journals was high. Journal rank according to impact factor is related to the number of publications, but not the proportion of publications that are evidence-based medicine level 1 or 2.     

Predictive factors for publication of abstracts at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Congress

Background

A key metric of the research quality of medical conferences is the publication rate of abstracts. The study objective was to determine the publication rate of abstracts presented at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Congress (RACS ASC) and to examine for any predictive factors associated with publication.

Methods

Abstracts presented at the RACS ASC from 2011 to 2013 were analysed. Abstract characteristics such as presentation format, study type, study design, study site, cohort size and author origin were recorded. Abstracts published were identified by a PubMed search using a strict algorithm. Univariate and multivariable logistic regressions were used to analyse for predictive factors of publication.

Results

Overall, 1438 abstracts were presented and 423 abstracts (29%) were published. The median time to publication was 15.2 months (interquartile range: 8–26) with 110 in Australasian journals (26%). The median number of citations for published abstracts was 6 (interquartile range: 2–16). After multivariable analysis, publication was significantly associated with prospective study design (odds ratio (OR) = 1.34, P = 0.02), multicentre study site (OR = 1.43, P = 0.02), cohort size ≥100 (OR = 2.00, P < 0.001) and New Zealand author origin (OR = 1.50, P = 0.01).

Conclusion

Our study demonstrates that less than one‐third of abstracts presented at the RACS ASC are subsequently published in a peer‐reviewed journal. Factors significantly associated with journal publication include prospective studies, multicentre study, a larger cohort size and New Zealand author origin. Advances in surgery may progress from the preliminary findings of conference abstracts. However only after the rigorous peer review offered by journal publication should changes in decision‐making of patient care occur.     

Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations. A Twenty-Fifth Anniversary History

This narrative reviews the history of Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations from its inception and founding through its development to reach its current status. It describes the difficulties it experienced during its initial years when it almost folded, its resuscitation when it was designated as the “official journal” of the Society of Urologic Oncology, its merger with Seminars in Urologic Oncology to strengthen the content of both journals in a new format, its acceptance for indexation by the National Library of Medicine, its progress to monthly publication in addressing the needs of both authors and readership, and its current status as a leading multidisciplinary journal in urologic oncology. As a founding editor and managing editor for the first 5 years and then as editor-in-chief for the next 20 years, the author has been integrally involved in each step of the Journal's development and maturation. The Journal has been referred to as “the journal that almost never was” as it now has reached its 25th year of publication. This article commemorates the Journal's 25th Anniversary and gratefully acknowledges all of those investigators, authors, reviewers, editors, publishers and the readership who have contributed to the Journal's ongoing success.     

The "impact factor" of anesthesia and intensive care journals

The "impact factor" (IF) of scientific journals is defined as the number of citations obtained over a one-year period of articles published during the two previous years in a journal, divided by the number of articles published in that journal during the preceding two years. The IF, initially devised as an indicator of the quality of a journal, is at present mainly considered as an indicator of the quality of an article contained in that journal. However the IF of a journal is not equivalent to the actual impact of an article. Therefore the IF is not an accurate tool for assessment of the scientific quality of the author of that article. The IFs of journals published in English are significantly higher than the IFs of those in another language, mainly as English is the language used for international communication and as English speaking authors rarely cite articles published in another language. The IF of the journal of the French society for anaesthesiology and intensive care, the Annales fran?aises d'anesthésie et de réanimation (Afar), is about seven times below the IF of Anesthesiology, which has the highest IF in the category "Anesthesiology". From 1992 to 1998, the relative impact value of the Afar has increased by 429%. However the absolute value remains low.     

Scientific publications from the Spanish anesthesiology departments in 1989-1998. Authorship of the articles

OBJECTIVES: To quantify the scientific publication of Spanish anesthesiologists and analyse article authorship. METHOD: Bibliometric study. On MEDLINE we identified articles from Spanish anesthesiology departments published between 1989 and 1998. An entry for each article was created to record name, number and order of authors, journal source and length of article. The data base also noted where the article was published (Spain or abroad). Several bibliographic indices were calculated (authors per article, pages per article, articles per year, and more). The number of articles published by Spanish anesthesiologists was compared to the number published around the world. RESULTS: We analyzed 604 articles from 12 Spanish journals and 176 from 40 foreign journals. The numbers of authors per article in Spanish publications during the first and last three-year periods were 4.86 and 5.28, respectively (p < 0.05). The numbers of authors per article published abroad for the same periods were 5.73 and 5.01, respectively. The number of pages published in international journals in the last three-year period was four-fold greater than in the first. CONCLUSIONS: The bibliographic indices that reflect publication by Spanish anesthesiologists internationally is evolving positively. Data from Spanish journals allow us to deduce the existence of a certain degree of unjustified addition of authors. A quantitative-qualitative method for rating curriculum vitae is proposed in order to reduce that tendency.