Ophthalmology and vision science research. Part 1: Understanding and using journal impact factors and citation indices

In an increasingly "publish or perish" clinical and academic environment, all clinicians and clinician-scientists involved in research must have a firm understanding of the measures commonly used to assess the quality of scientific journals and, by default, those extended to grade individual articles and authors. The publication of research is a vital part of clinical and experimental research, and citation analyses of research publications have increasingly been adopted as a means of assessing the apparent quality of journals and the research published therein. In the first of a series of articles for those embarking on ophthalmic and vision science research, this paper discusses the key features of citation analysis, concentrating on the 2004 Journal Citation Report figures for the field of ophthalmology that include 42 ophthalmology, vision science, physiological optics, and optometry journals. The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) calculates a number of parameters including citation counts, Journal Impact Factor (JIF), Immediacy Index, and cited/citing half-life. This article discusses the methods of calculation and possible uses along with current controversies and potential abuses. The JIF and its relevance, potential bias, and limitations are discussed in depth as it has become the most widely used analysis of journal quality. The possible alternatives to ISI citation analysis are presented, and we conclude that citation analysis can be considered a reasonable measure of journal research quality only if used correctly.     

Ophthalmology and vision science research: part 5: surfing or sieving--using literature databases wisely

Literature databases are an ever-expanding resource available to the field of medical sciences. Understanding how to use such databases efficiently is critical for those involved in research. However, for the uninitiated, getting started is a major hurdle to overcome and for the occasional user, the finer points of database searching remain an unacquired skill. In the fifth and final article in this series aimed at those embarking on ophthalmology and vision science research, we look at how the beginning researcher can start to use literature databases and, by using a stepwise approach, how they can optimize their use. This instructional paper gives a hypothetical example of a researcher writing a review article and how he or she acquires the necessary scientific literature for the article. A prototype search of the Medline database is used to illustrate how even a novice might swiftly acquire the skills required for a medium-level search. It provides examples and key tips that can increase the proficiency of the occasional user. Pitfalls of database searching are discussed, as are the limitations of which the user should be aware.     

功能性磁共振成像在视觉科学研究中的应用进展

磁共振成像是目前较为普及的影像学检查手段之一,传统的磁共振成像及增强成像在眼科临床诊疗中已得到广泛应用.功能性磁共振成像技术包括血氧水平依赖的功能磁共振成像、磁共振波谱成像和弥散张量成像在内,在视觉皮层定位、视神经炎、弱视、青光眼、眼眶肿瘤以及视觉中枢白质纤维重建研究中显示了独特的价值.本文就功能性磁共振成像技术在上述方面的研究进展作一综述.     

Gerald Westheimer: a paradigm for excellence in vision science research. Interview by Kenneth A. Polse.

Professor Gerald Westheimer has made enormous contributions to the field of vision science while introducing some of the most innovative and respected vision research of the twentieth century. Dr. Westheimer's achievements have been enhanced by an equally stellar reputation as a teacher and mentor. This biography and interview span 83 years of Dr. Westheimer's professional and personal life, from his childhood in Germany to his accomplishments at the University of California.     

Colour vision and acquired colour vision disturbances. Part I: basic aspects

Colour vision is the most sensitive sensory ability of the human eye, making it possible to distinguish several million nuances of colour. The physiology of colour vision has meanwhile been researched in depth, including the genetic and biochemical principles. This knowledge has facilitated a better understanding of the results of clinical tests on colour vision. These clinical tests provide useful information on the aetiology of very different clinical pictures in ophthalmology and as such are important for the diagnosis of these diseases. Acquired colour vision deficiencies in patients with systemic vascular disease are early signs of dysfunctional microcirculation and play a role in the early diagnostic work-up. Part I of this review summarizes the basic principles of colour vision and its disturbances. Congenital and acquired colour vision disturbances are distinguished. The second part then describes the most commonly employed examination procedures to assess colour vision.     

Prognosis for the evolution of Ophthalmology: Part II.

This paper represents an application of modern forecasting methods to prognosis in ophthalmology. Using these methods the author considers possible changes in patterns of ocular pathology in the next 20 to 25 years. He also indicates the probable evolution of such methods of investigation as biomicroscopy, ophthalmoscopy, electrophysiology, and automatic diagnosis. In the field of ophthalmosurgery, the author explores the idea of automation of eye surgery and extended use of micromanipulators in surgery. He predicts the autoplasty of the anterior segment and the transplant of the whole eye.     

Clinical study of low vision. Part I: Refraction and the aided distance vision

Eighty three cases of low vision patients (144 eyes) were examined with distant visual aids. The average visual acuity of the 144 eyes before refraction was approximately 0.07, while the counterpart afterwards was about 0.1 (p less than 0.01). With the 4x monocular focusable aid, acuity improved in 142 eyes out of the 144 eyes. The combined use of clip-on distance aid and the spectacle reading aid was observed to be especially suitable for partially sighted students. The mean MEF of 142 eyes was 0.9435 +/- 0.2068. The paired T-test between the difference of actual magnification and theoretical magnification was not significant at the 5% level. The factors contributing to the variance of MEF were discussed.     

Analysis of New Zealand's research productivity in ophthalmology and vision science: 1993-2002

AIM: To assess New Zealand's research productivity in the area of ophthalmology and vision science over the decade 1993-2002. METHODS: New Zealand-based researchers involved in ophthalmology or vision science research, including ophthalmologists, optometrists and vision scientists were identified via professional colleges, universities and electronic databases. Peer-reviewed publications by these authors were identified by both searching electronic databases (MEDLINE/Pubmed) and personal communication with individual researchers. RESULTS: Eighty-five New Zealand-based researchers involved in ophthalmology or vision science research published 446 articles in 84 scientific journals during the 10-year period. The cohort consisted of 59 ophthalmologists and 26 other researchers based in a diverse range of ophthalmology, optometry and university departments. Significant collaboration was observed between groups within New Zealand and with international institutions. Comparing ophthalmologists and 'other' researchers, ophthalmologists produced 69% of all ophthalmology and vision science research publications and those classified as 'active ophthalmologist researchers' published an average of 11 (range 5-55) papers each during this decade, compared to eight (range 5-25) for the group 'other active researchers'. This was also reflected in the high productivity rate by ophthalmologists of 277 publications per 1000. Publications were identified in a wide range of journals with the majority in top 20-ranked ophthalmology journals. The trend over the decade highlighted an increase in number of scientific publications, from 43 per annum in 1993, to 68 per annum in 2002. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a relatively small and geographically isolated population, New Zealand ophthalmology and vision science research is highly active and collaborative, with significantly increased research productivity during the period 1993-2002. The present study is the first to document these trends and provides strong evidence to justify continued support for ophthalmology and vision science research in New Zealand.     

Navigating without vision: basic and applied research.

We describe some of the results of our program of basic and applied research on navigating without vision. One basic research topic that we have studied extensively is path integration, a form of navigation in which perceived self-motion is integrated over time to obtain an estimate of current position and orientation. In experiments on pathway completion, one test of path integration ability, we have found that subjects who are passively guided over the outbound path without vision exhibit significant errors when attempting to return to the origin but are nevertheless sensitive to turns and segment lengths in the stimulus path. We have also found no major differences in path integration ability among blind and sighted populations. A model we have developed that attributes errors in path integration to errors in encoding the stimulus path is a good beginning toward understanding path integration performance. In other research on path integration, in which optic flow information was manipulated in addition to the proprioceptive and vestibular information of nonvisual locomotion, we have found that optic flow is a weak input to the path integration process. In other basic research, our studies of auditory distance perception in outdoor environments show systematic underestimation of sound source distance. Our applied research has been concerned with developing and evaluating a navigation system for the visually impaired that uses three recent technologies: the Global Positioning System, Geographic Information Systems, and virtual acoustics. Our work shows that there is considerable promise of these three technologies in allowing visually impaired individuals to navigate and learn about unfamiliar environments without the assistance of human guides.     

Ophthalmology (eye physician and surgeon) manpower studies for the United States. Part IV: Ophthalmology manpower distribution 1983

Physician distribution continues to be important in health manpower planning. In 1980 the GMENAC Committee reported uneven geographic distribution of physicians and uneven rates of use of health services in the United States. This study uses zip code sectional areas as the geographical units to describe the geographic distribution of ophthalmologists. Ophthalmologists to population ratio was calculated for each of 532 zip code sectional areas in the US. Results indicate considerable variation in availability of ophthalmologic services. However, this variation is not necessarily indicative of a serious maldistribution problem since there are regional differences in need and supply. This study found that less than 1% of the population did not have convenient access to an ophthalmologist. Resulting data should be helpful to both ophthalmologists considering relocating and residents seeking practice opportunities. Ratios should be used in conjunction with other demographic information available for the sectional areas.     

Optometry research. Part 1: Funding sources.

Part 1 of this report presents an overview of U.S. ophthalmic research in general and of optometry research in particular and identifies the National Eye Institute (NEI) as the dominant funder of both types of research. Part 2 examines how NEI funding has been distributed among the U.S. schools and colleges of optometry in the past, whereas Part 3 examines the production of published research from the schools and colleges and the Department of Veterans Affairs Optometry Service. Information is presented to indicate that the schools of optometry account for about 3% of all NEI funding and produce about 3% of all published ophthalmic research. Published optometry research results mainly from the activities of four schools and the VA Optometry Service, which has rapidly become the leading source of articles published in The Journal of the American Optometric Association and presenter of continuing education at the Academy's annual Ellerbrock Lectures. This study suggests optometry needs to husband its relatively small research base and, in the author's opinion, concentrate on the support of clinical trials and research directly relevant to primary eye care rather than basic biologic or physiologic research.     

Optometry research. Part 2: Grants received.

Part 1 showed that the dominant provider of ophthalmic research funding (85%) was the National Eye Institute (NEI) and that on the average optometry faculty members had received about 3% of that funding over the years. Part 2 shows how this 3% of NEI funding has been distributed among the 16 U.S. schools in existence during the period studied and why 3% is a rational result under current conditions.     

Results from a pediatric vision screening and its ability to predict academic performance.

BACKGROUND: Children attending three New York City public schools were screened in 1998-1999. These three schools were previously screened in 1996-1997. This allowed comparison of referral rates between the two years. In addition, we were able to follow individual children who attended the schools between these two years. Finally, using results of the citywide achievement test scores, we were able to correlate the specific vision screening tests with academic performance. METHODS: Results from each of the years were analyzed to determine if any trend existed in referral frequency and screening procedures failed. Referral criteria were failure on one or more of the screening battery tests. In addition, the children's vision screening performance was compared with their reading achievement test scores. Vision screening results of children in both the top 25% and bottom 25% of the class were evaluated and academic improvement based on optometric intervention was also monitored. RESULTS: Twenty-nine percent (29%) of children screened in 1996-1997 were referred. This matched the 25% referral rate found in 1998-1999. The screenings in 1998-1999 yielded a higher referral rate (35%) in functional vision tests as opposed to visual acuity screening procedures than the screening in 1996-1997 (30%). The King Devick Eye Movement Test and the hyperopia assessment screening showed significant correlation with citywide achievement test scores. Both these tests were significant for predicting those students in the lower 25% of the class for all grades in both years of the screenings. CONCLUSIONS: Early detection and remediation increased the potential for more effective learning in a small sample size of 25 children. Further studies involving larger sample sizes are indicated.     

Comprehensive vision care: a model.

This paper suggests a model for the practice of vision care in which the optometrist and ophthalmologist are each used to maximum advantage. It is demonstrated how the present antagonism between the two fields can be removed with a resultant enhancement of the practice of both optometry and ophthalmology. The natural outcome of the new relationship will be better vision care for the public.