bims-evares Biomed News
on Evaluation of research
Issue of 2019‒04‒07
twenty-six papers selected by
Thomas Krichel
Open Library Society


  1. BMJ Open. 2019 Mar 30. 9(3): e025320
      OBJECTIVES: Effective researcher assessment is key to decisions about funding allocations, promotion and tenure. We aimed to identify what is known about methods for assessing researcher achievements, leading to a new composite assessment model.DESIGN: We systematically reviewed the literature via the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols framework.
    DATA SOURCES: All Web of Science databases (including Core Collection, MEDLINE and BIOSIS Citation Index) to the end of 2017. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: (1) English language, (2) published in the last 10 years (2007-2017), (3) full text was available and (4) the article discussed an approach to the assessment of an individual researcher's achievements.
    DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Articles were allocated among four pairs of reviewers for screening, with each pair randomly assigned 5% of their allocation to review concurrently against inclusion criteria. Inter-rater reliability was assessed using Cohen's Kappa (ĸ). The ĸ statistic showed agreement ranging from moderate to almost perfect (0.4848-0.9039). Following screening, selected articles underwent full-text review and bias was assessed.
    RESULTS: Four hundred and seventy-eight articles were included in the final review. Established approaches developed prior to our inclusion period (eg, citations and outputs, h-index and journal impact factor) remained dominant in the literature and in practice. New bibliometric methods and models emerged in the last 10 years including: measures based on PageRank algorithms or 'altmetric' data, methods to apply peer judgement and techniques to assign values to publication quantity and quality. Each assessment method tended to prioritise certain aspects of achievement over others.
    CONCLUSIONS: All metrics and models focus on an element or elements at the expense of others. A new composite design, the Comprehensive Researcher Achievement Model (CRAM), is presented, which supersedes past anachronistic models. The CRAM is modifiable to a range of applications.
    Keywords:  Comprehensive Researcher Achievement Model (CRAM); citations; h-index; journal impact factor; outputs; research metrics; researcher assessment
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025320
  2. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2019 Apr 05.
      PURPOSE: This study compared three known predatory nursing journals to determine the percentage of content among them that was plagiarized or duplicated. A serendipitous finding of several instances of plagiarism via duplicate publications during the random analysis of articles in a study examining the quality of articles published in predatory journals prompted this investigation.DESIGN: The study utilized a descriptive, comparative design. All articles in each journal (n = 296 articles) from inception (volume 1, number 1) through May 1, 2017, were analyzed.
    METHODS: Each article was evaluated and scored electronically for similarity using an electronic plagiarism detection tool. Articles were then individually reviewed, and exact and near exact matches (90% or greater plagiarized content) were paired. Articles with less than 70% plagiarized scores were randomly sampled, and an in-depth search for matches of partial content in other journals was conducted. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data.
    FINDINGS: The extent and direction of duplication from one given journal to another was established. Changes made in subsequent publications, as a potential distraction to identify plagiarism, were also identified. There were 100 (68%) exact and near exact matches in the paired articles. The time lapse between the original and duplicate publication ranged from 0 to 63 months, with a mean of 27.2 months (SD =19.68). Authors were from 26 countries, including Africa, the United States, Turkey, and Iran. Articles with similarity scores in the range of 20% to 70% included possible similarities in content or research plagiarism, but not to the extent of the exact or near exact matches. The majority of the articles (n = 94) went from Journal A or C to Journal B, although four articles were first published in Journal B and then Journal A.
    CONCLUSIONS: This study found a substantial level of plagiarism via duplicate publications in the three analyzed predatory journals, further diluting credible scientific literature and risking the ability to synthesize evidence accurately to inform practice. Editors should continue to use electronic plagiarism detection tools. Education about publishing misconduct for editors and authors is a high priority.
    CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Both contributors and consumers of nursing literature rely on integrity in publication. Authors expect appropriate credit for their scholarly contributions without unethical and unauthorized duplication of their work. Readers expect current information from original authors, upon which they can make informed practice decisions.
    Keywords:  Duplicate publication; nursing journal; plagiarism; predatory; scholarly writing; unethical publishing
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12475
  3. J Eval Clin Pract. 2019 Apr 02.
      
    Keywords:  evidence-based medicine; medical ethics; medical research
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.13133
  4. Saudi J Anaesth. 2019 Apr;13(Suppl 1): S2-S8
      Background: The overall similarity index (OSI) and highest similarity scores (HSSs) from a single source might help to predict the potential reasons for the retraction from the anesthesia journals.Methods: Retracted publications, from five highest impact anesthesia journals, were retrieved from the MEDLINE and journal archives and analyzed using a plagiarism detection software (iThenticate) and manually verified for citation characteristics, OSI, HSS, and the presence, extent, and location of the duplicate text. The validity of the OSI including and excluding quotations and references and the HSS in predicting the potential reasons for retraction were tested using the receiver operating characteristic curves.
    Results: Of the total 138 retracted original and corresponding articles identified, 131 articles were analyzed. Most of them had the HSS more than 40% arising from a single source. Extensive degree of plagiarism (OSI score >35%) was identified through the main text of all analyzed retracted articles. The areas under the curves indicate that the OSI including and excluding quotations and bibliography and the HSS had reasonable ability to predict plagiarism and fabrication with a perfect sensitivity rate and low specificity but were weaker at distinguishing ethical misconduct or inconsistent or erroneous contents.
    Conclusions: The study highlights the presence of significant plagiarism in the retracted anesthesia publications irrespective to the reasons for retraction. The high OSI and the HSS could be useful tools to identify the potential manuscripts with high risks for plagiarism and fabrication.
    Keywords:  Anesthesia; CrossCheck; misconduct; plagiarism; retractions; similarity index
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.4103/sja.SJA_709_18
  5. Gastrointest Endosc. 2019 Mar 29. pii: S0016-5107(19)30219-6. [Epub ahead of print]
      BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Social media activity in the area of scientific journal publications has increased significantly over the last decade. Several studies have suggested that journal article citations can be positively impacted by an increase in social media activity. Preliminary data have also suggested that published articles in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology which were discussed on Twitter were independently associated with higher citation rates compared with those that were not. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (GIE) is the most widely cited endoscopy-focused journal in the world. We aimed to assess the association of social media exposure of published articles in GIE and its impact on article citations.METHODS: Data regarding journal article publication status, number of citations per article, and social media exposure per article using Altmetric data were collected from the publisher. All original articles published in GIE from 2000 to 2016 were reviewed. Editorials, case reports, and other non-research correspondence were excluded. Multivariable linear regression was used to assess for independent Altmetric predictors of higher citation rates over time. Logistic regression was used to assess the impact of an article mention on various social media platforms and whether it was cited during the study period.
    RESULTS: A total of 2,361 original research articles were evaluated. 2,050 (86.8%) articles were cited at least once during the follow-up period. Mean number of citations per article was (16.8±23). The average Altmetric Attention score was 2.0±13. The most profound independent predictor of article citation was whether an article was tweeted (OR, 14.2; 95% CI, 8.93-22.45). Other predictors include Facebook posts (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.03-1.51) and number of Mendeley readers (OR, 1.359; 95% CI, 1.28-1.45). On multivariable linear regression, number of Tweeters (β 2.3, p=0.022), F1000 reviews (β 5.87, p<0.001), Policy documents (β 7.6, p<0.001), and number of Mendeley readers (β 14.21, p<0.001) were significantly associated with higher citation rates of published articles.
    CONCLUSIONS: For original articles published in GIE, there was a strong association between social media exposure on Twitter and rates of journal article citations. To a lesser degree, Facebook posts and Mendeley readers also were associated with a higher rate of article citations. This could represent both cause and effect and may be representative of higher-quality articles being more commonly mentioned on social media by third-party users. A randomized-controlled study evaluating different degrees of social media exposure on individual articles could be considered to further assess for causality.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gie.2019.03.028
  6. Br J Hist Sci. 2019 Apr 05. 1-19
      This article addresses the issue of professionalization in the life sciences during the second half of the nineteenth century through a survey of British entomological periodicals. It is generally accepted that this period saw the rise of professional practitioners and the emergence of biology (as opposed to the older mode of natural history). However, recent scholarship has increasingly shown that this narrative elides the more complex processes at work in shaping scientific communities from the 1850s to the turn of the century. This article adds to such scholarship by examining the ways in which the editors of four entomological periodicals from across this time frame attempted to shape the communities of their readership, and in particular focuses upon the apparent divide between 'mere collectors' and 'entomologists' as expressed within these journals. Crucially, the article argues that non-professional practitioners were active in defining their own distinct identities and thereby claiming scientific authority. Alongside the periodicals, the article makes use of the correspondence archive of the entomologist and periodical editor Henry Tibbats Stainton (1822-1892), which has hitherto not been subject to sustained analysis by historians.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007087419000050
  7. Ir J Psychol Med. 2019 Mar;36(1): 23-27
      OBJECTIVES: Culturomics is the study of behaviour and culture through quantitative analysis of digitised text. We aimed to apply a modern technique in this field to examine trends related to the history of psychiatry. In doing so, we aimed to explore the nature of the Google Ngram methodology.METHODS: Using Google Ngram Viewer, we studied Google's corpus of over 4% of all published books and explored relevant trends in word usage.
    RESULTS: An exponential growth in the use of 'psychiatry' between 1890 and 1984 was identified. 'Sigmund Freud' was mentioned more frequently than all other prominent figures in the history of psychiatry combined. Mentions of 'suicide' increased since 1820. The impact of several DSM editions is discussed.
    CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the potential application of the Ngram methodology to the study of the history of psychiatry. The role of textual analysis in this field merits careful, constructive consideration and is likely to expand with technological advances.
    Keywords:  Culturomics; history; internet; psychiatry; psychoanalysis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2017.37
  8. Scientifica (Cairo). 2019 ;2019 9127657
      Mexico's National Institute of Geriatrics (INGER) is the national research center of reference for matters related to human aging. INGER scientists perform basic, clinical, and demographic research which may imply different scientific cultures working together in the same specialized institution. In this paper, by a combination of text mining, coauthorship network analysis, and agent-based modeling, we analyzed and modeled the team assembly practices and the structure of the knowledge produced by scientists from INGER. Our results showed a weak connection between basic and clinical research and the emergence of a highly connected academic leadership. Importantly, basic and clinical-demographic researchers exhibited different team assembly strategies: basic researchers tended to form larger teams mainly with external collaborators, while clinical and demographic researchers formed smaller teams that very often incorporated internal (INGER) collaborators. We showed how these two different ways to form research teams impacted the organization of knowledge produced at INGER. Following these observations, we modeled, via agent-based modeling, the coexistence of different scientific cultures (basic and clinical research) exhibiting different team assembly strategies in the same institution. Three virtual experiments were run in our agent-based model. The three experiments kept similar values to the collaborating dynamics of INGER in terms of average team size and probabilities of choosing incumbents and external collaborators. The only difference among these experiments was the value of homophily defined as the trend to collaborate with research studies from the same field (14% corresponding to the 46% and 79%). The main result of these experiments is that by modulating just one variable (homophily), we could successfully reproduce the current situation of INGER (homophily of 79%) and simulate alternative scenarios in which interdisciplinary (46%) and transdisciplinary (14%) research could be done.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/9127657
  9. Scientometrics. 2019 ;118(1): 339-373
      There is a mounting worry about erroneous and outright fraudulent research that gets published in the scientific literature. Although peer review's ability to filter out such publications is contentious, several peer review innovations attempt to do just that. However, there is very little systematic evidence documenting the ability of different review procedures to flag problematic publications. In this article, we use survey data on peer review in a wide range of journals to compare the retraction rates of specific review procedures, using the Retraction Watch database. We were able to identify which peer review procedures were used since 2000 for 361 journals, publishing a total of 833,172 articles, of which 670 were retracted. After addressing the dual character of retractions, signalling both a failure to identify problems prior to publication, but also the willingness to correct mistakes, we empirically assess review procedures. With considerable conceptual caveats, we were able to identify peer review procedures that seem able to detect problematic research better than others. Results were verified for disciplinary differences and variation between reasons for retraction. This leads to informed recommendations for journal editors about strengths and weaknesses of specific peer review procedures, allowing them to select review procedures that address issues most relevant to their field.
    Keywords:  Peer review; Research integrity; Retractions; Scientific publishing
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-018-2969-2
  10. BMJ Open. 2019 Apr 03. 9(4): e024942
      INTRODUCTION: Reporting guidelines are important tools for improving the quality of medical research. The Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) Network's Library contains a comprehensive and up-to-date database of reporting guidelines relevant to health research. Only 31% of reporting guidelines published from 2010 to 2014 reported using the Delphi technique, and the reporting quality of the Delphi technique in reporting guidelines is unknown even though the use of the Delphi technique was recommended in the guidance for reporting guidelines. We will assess the quality reports of the Delphi technique or modified Delphi technique in reporting guidelines.METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The present study is a systematic analysis of the EQUATOR Network Library. We will include all reporting guidelines in the EQUATOR Network that used the Delphi technique or modified Delphi technique, published since 1 January 2011 and registered in the EQUATOR on or before 31 May 2018. Our primary outcome is the reporting quality of the Delphi technique, measured by the quality score (each item) in the Delphi technique. We will also examine the relationship between the reporting quality score (each item) of the Delphi technique and year of publication, number of authors, impact factor, sources of funding (industry, non-industry), multiple publications and whether the guidelines are published in open access policy.
    ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval will not be applicable for this study. This protocol has been registered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry. We will publish our findings in a peer-reviewed journal and may also present them at conferences.
    TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: UMIN000032685.
    Keywords:  Delphi technique; reporting guidelines; systematic analysis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024942
  11. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Mar 27. pii: E1091. [Epub ahead of print]16(7):
      Background: Monocarboxylate transport protein 1 (MCT1) has been defined as a critical regulator in tumor energy metabolism, but bibliometric analysis of MCT1 research is rare. This study aimed to comprehensively analyze the global scientific output of MCT1 research and explore the hotspots and frontiers from the past decade. Methods: Publications and their literature information from 2008 to 2018 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. We used Microsoft Excel 2016 to detect the trend of annual numbers of publications, and used Citespace V software as the bibliometric method to analyze the research areas, countries, institutions, authors, journals, research hotspots, and research frontiers. Results: A total of 851 publications were identified with an increasing trend. Relevant literature mainly focused on the field of oncology. The most prolific country and institution were the USA and University of Minho, respectively. Baltazar was the most productive author while Halestrap had the highest co-citations. The hottest topics in MCT1 were hypoxia, gene expression, and CD147 over the last decade. The three research frontier topics were proliferation, tumor cell, and resistance. The special role of MCT1 in human tumor cells has become the focus for scholars recently. Conclusion: The development prospects of MCT1 research could be expected and researchers should pay attention to the clinical significance of MCT1 inhibitors as anti-cancer or immunosuppressive drugs and the possibility of drug-resistance formation.
    Keywords:  CiteSpace; bibliometrics; monocarboxylate transport protein 1; neoplasms
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16071091
  12. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2019 Apr 04.
      Importance: Clinical trial registries are intended to increase clinical research transparency by nonselectively identifying and documenting clinical trial designs and outcomes. Inconsistencies in reported data undermine the utility of such registries and have previously been noted in general medical literature.Objective: To assess whether inconsistencies in reported data exist between ophthalmic literature and clinical trial registries.
    Design, Setting, and Participants: In this retrospective, cross-sectional study, interventional clinical trials published from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2014, in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, JAMA Ophthalmology, and Ophthalmology were reviewed. Observational, retrospective, uncontrolled, and post hoc reports were excluded, yielding a sample size of 106 articles. Data collection was performed from January through September 2016. Data review and adjudication continued through January 2017.
    Main Outcomes and Measures: If possible, articles were matched to registry entries listed in the ClinicalTrials.gov database or in 1 of 16 international registries indexed by the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform version 3.2 search engine. Each article-registry pair was assessed for inconsistencies in design, results, and funding (each of which was further divided into subcategories) by 2 reviewers and adjudicated by a third.
    Results: Of 106 trials that met the study criteria, matching registry entries were found for 68 (64.2%), whereas no matching registry entries were found for 38 (35.8%). Inconsistencies were identified in study design, study results, and funding sources, including specific interventions in 8 (11.8%), primary outcome measure (POM) designs in 32 (47.1%), and POM results in 48 (70.6%). In addition, numerous data pieces were unreported, including analysis methods in 52 (76.5%) and POM results in 38 (55.9%).
    Conclusions and Relevance: Clinical trial registries were underused in this sample of ophthalmology clinical trials. For studies with registry data, inconsistency rates between published and registered data were similar to those previously reported for general medical literature. In most cases, inconsistencies involved missing data, but explicit discrepancies in methods and/or data were also found. Transparency and credibility of published trials may be improved by closer attention to their registration and reporting.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2019.0312
  13. Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital. 2019 Mar 25.
      
    Keywords:  Impact factor; Journal metrics; Open access; SCImago journal rank indicator; Scientific publishing
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.14639/0392-100X-2192
  14. Cureus. 2019 Jan 24. 11(1): e3953
      Our institution established an online medical journal to promote publication opportunities and to foster a culture of scholarship. In two years of activity, there was an increase in the proportion of students reporting authorship of peer-reviewed publications at our institution suggesting an increase in students' scholarly interest and output.
    Keywords:  evidence-based medicine; innovation; medical student; publications
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.3953
  15. Nature. 2019 Apr;568(7750): 33
      
    Keywords:  Funding; Institutions; Policy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01059-z
  16. J Adv Nurs. 2019 Apr 02.
      Ask any member of staff of a nursing school- 'who is your best researcher' they will probably know. If you ask them to prove it they should be able to respond with a set of quantifiable, objective metrics; numbers of papers in high impact journals, grants won, PhD completion rates and 'H' index data. Ask them the question 'who is the best teacher in your school' they will probably pause a bit longer - but still identify a few names. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.14006
  17. Can J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019 ;2019 3280657
      Purpose: To identify and characterize the 100 most-cited articles in the field of transient elastography.Methods: The top-cited articles focusing on transient elastography from 1999 to 2017 were retrieved from Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E) database. The most prolific article, journal, country and continent, top-cited article in different period, international collaboration, cocitation analysis of journal were retrieved and analyzed in this article. Bibexcel 2016, Microsoft Excel 2010, and VOSviewer 1.6.5 were used to analyze bibliometric records we downloaded.
    Results: The 100 most-cited articles were published between 2003 and 2015. The total citations ranged from 54 to 1376 (mean, 167.52 ± 208.46; median, 89.5) and the annual citations ranged from 4.91 to 98.24 (mean, 17.21±15.68; median, 12.1). The top-cited article was published in Gastroenterology in 2005 by Castera L. et al. (n=1376). The most-cited articles in 2003-2007 (n=1380), 2008-2012 (n=599) and 2013-2017 (n=159) were located. All of the most-cited articles in three periods were focusing on the topic of noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis. The most prolific author was de Ledinghen V. (n=21) and France (n=43) was the leading country. The most productive journal was Journal of Hepatology (n=20). The major article type was original research article.
    Conclusions: We undertook efforts to provide an insight into the features and evolvement of the most-cited articles in the field of transient elastography. For transient elastography, as a noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis, its use in the evaluation of liver fibrosis is gradually mature and shows great advantages. Moreover, the field of transient elastography is in a stage of rapid development.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/3280657
  18. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019 ;2019 3961395
      Background: Traditional Chinese Medicine Formula (TCMF) study has been recognized widely by medical scientists around the world. However, few researchers have analyzed and summarized the rapid growth of academic articles of TCMF published in English. The primary aim of this work was to assess the outcome of these research outputs in the TCMF field from 2000 to 2016 and to evaluate the situation and tendency.Methods: Research datasets were acquired from the Web of Science database, which includes all academic articles published from 2000 to 2016; articles were tracked by the keywords "Traditional Chinese Medicine", "Traditional Chinese Medicine Formula", and "Chinese herb formula". Moreover, visualization software CiteSpace V was used to analyze and generate visualization knowledge maps.
    Results: In total, 26,917 articles appeared in the Web of Science database, and only 2,621 publications met requirement based on reading the abstract or full text. The annual publications total, list of journals, research interests, list of medicine names, disease types, and the top 20 cited articles were given in this research paper. In addition, we compared the research of Japan and Korea TCMF, in the appendix.
    Conclusion: This review demonstrates that increasingly more researchers have interest in the TCMF and TCMF has great significant advantages over other areas of focus. However, these publications were published rarely in top academic journals and most best-quality papers have bias toward medical analysis rather than pharmacology. To make a breakthrough in TCMF field, further investigation is required to place emphasis on the deepening study of the mechanism of related TCMF.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/3961395
  19. Front Pharmacol. 2019 ;10 246
      Background: This study aimed to explore the intellectual landscape of the studies investigating the clinical application of enteral nutrition (EN) in patients with ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP), and to identify thematic development trends and research frontiers in this area. Methods: Scientometric research was conducted by analyzing bibliographic records retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection Database dated between 1996 and 2018. Reference co-citation analysis, key words co-occurrence analysis and cooperation network analysis were performed using CiteSpace software. Results: A total of 124 valid records were included in the final dataset. It was found that early studies were mainly focused on the feeding pathways of EN among VAP patients. The risks associated with EN intervention in VAP patients, including gastric nutrition intolerance and aspiration pneumonia, were extensively investigated and reported. While aspiration pneumonia has remained a long-term active research area in the field of EN interventions for VAP patients, with recent research focused more on interventions aiming to improve EN support and to optimize the use of EN for VAP patients. It seems that clinical guidelines on EN interventions for VAP patients need to be established. Conclusion: The advantages of EN for VAP patients have been recognized but still require further investigation on standardizing the use. Strategic cooperation among hospital physicians, university researchers and industrial product developers is required to establish clinical guidelines and to continue developing innovative EN products to tackle VAP.
    Keywords:  CiteSpace; clinical guideline; enteral nutrition; intensive care unit; risk factor; scientometric; ventilator associated pneumonia
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2019.00246
  20. Biol Psychiatry. 2019 Feb 19. pii: S0006-3223(19)30112-X. [Epub ahead of print]
      BACKGROUND: Women are currently underrepresented in academic psychiatry. As publication activity reflects both leadership and participation in academia, we examined temporal trends in women's authorship by conducting a large-scale bibliometric study of psychiatry journals.METHODS: We examined changes in proportions of women in the first, last, and overall authorship positions over time; relationship to journal impact factor and editorial board makeup; and rates of transition to senior author status using original research articles published in the 24 highest-impact psychiatry journals between January 2008 and May 2018.
    RESULTS: In 30,934 articles, women represented 40.0% of all authors in 2008 and 44.8% in 2018, with a significant increase in the percentage of women as first authors (2008: 43.5%, 2018: 49.5%; B = 0.64, p = .002) and last authors over time (2008: 30.0%, 2018: 35.7%; B = 0.64, p = 1 × 10-5). Articles with women as last authors were significantly more likely than those with men as last authors to have a woman as first author (χ21 = 126.1, p < 2.2 × 10-16). Women exhibited slower rates of transition to the last author position (log rank p = 2 × 10-16); time to 10% transition was 5 years for men and 9 years for women.
    CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate continued improvement in the representation of women authors in psychiatry journals, resulting in near parity in first authors. However, slower rates of transition to the senior author position and continued underrepresentation of women as senior authors suggest ongoing challenges in achieving gender parity in academic leadership. At the present rate of change for last authors (0.64% increase per year), women would achieve parity in senior authorship in ∼20 to 25 years.
    Keywords:  Academic psychiatry; Authorship; Gender disparity; Gender trends; Psychiatry journals; Publications
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.02.010
  21. Anaesthesist. 2019 Apr 02.
      BACKGROUND: This study presents a count of publications and citations for all articles published by university Departments of Anaesthesiology in Germany, Austria and Switzerland between 2011 and 2015. The results were compared with former analyses of these countries from 2001-2010 as well as similar international studies.METHODS: We performed a PubMed search based on PERL-scripts for all publications originating from university Departments of Anaesthesiology in Germany, Austria and Switzerland between 2011 and 2015. According to their author's affiliation, articles were assigned to their affiliated university department. Publications were considered an original article if the category of publication was classified as original research in PubMed. Predatory journals were omitted by using PubMed-listed journals only. Data of citations was retrieved from Thomson Reuter's ISI Web of Knowledge. The following indicators were reported: the number of publications and original articles (counting each author and first authors only) and the share of original articles out of all publications. With regard to citations, we reported the overall number, the percentage of publications, which were cited at least once and the median of citations per publication and per original article as well as the calculated h-index.
    RESULTS: The 47 university Departments of Anaesthesiology published 4.697 articles between 2011 and 2015, which make up 89% of all anaesthesiology research originating from Germany, Austria and Switzerland (overall 5.284 publications). Of these, 1.037 (22%) were classified as original articles. Considering only articles with first authors, equalizing a change of PubMed's affiliation field policy in 2012 to compare the numbers with previous periods, 3.709 publications and 821 original articles were published. 90% of all publications and 96% of original articles, respectively, were cited at least once. Publications were cited six times, while original articles were cited nine times. The university department of Anaesthesiology in Zurich published most (n = 245), while most original articles were published in Vienna (n = 77). The highest share of original articles was achieved by Vienna (37%). Publications from Berlin - Benjamin Franklin and Jena (11 citations per publication) and original articles from Essen (23,5 citations per original article) achieved the highest citation rates.
    DISCUSSION: In contrast to the worldwide increasing trend, the number of publications of the university Departments of Anaesthesiology in Germany, Austria and Switzerland stagnated. The share of original articles out of all publications continues to decline in comparison to 2001-2010 (-6%). Despite this, original articles were cited more frequently and thus had a higher value for the scientific community. The reasons of the decrease in the number of original articles remain unclear and require further investigation to reverse this negative trend.
    CONCLUSION: Strategies to foster academic work in anaesthesiology in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are required.
    Keywords:  Anaesthesiology; Bibliometry; Publication; Research; University hospital
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00101-019-0582-2
  22. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2019 Mar 28.
      INTRODUCTION: Participation of women in medicine has increased markedly in recent decades, but gender disparities still exist, particularly in academic medicine. To provide insight into the gender gap, specifically in academic orthopaedic sports medicine, we investigated the relationship between gender and authorship in orthopaedic sports literature from 1972 to 2018.METHODS: Information about every original article in four prominent orthopaedic sports medicine journals between 1972 and 2018 was extracted from PubMed. The proportions of female first, second, middle, and senior authors over time were determined. Gender influences on level of evidence, academic degrees, and academic productivity and longevity were also studied. Student t-test, multiple linear regression, chi-square test, Cochran-Armitage trend test, and Kaplan-Meier analysis were used to determine significance between groups.
    RESULTS: In our sample, 16.6% of all authors were female. The proportion of female authors increased from 2.6% (1972 to 1979) to 14.7% (2010 to 2018). Female authors averaged fewer publications (1.9 versus 2.8 articles for male authors) and were more likely to be attributed middle authorship (45.9% versus 37.1%) than senior authorship (14.7% versus 22.1%, P < 0.001). Female authors were more likely to be full-time research staff, such as a PhD (18.2% versus 9.0%, P < 0.001), which correlated with a higher level of evidence (B = -0.162, P < 0.001). Gender differences in academic longevity decreased over decades (1972 to 1989, 1990 to 1999, 2000 to 2008), demonstrated by decreasing significance of Kaplan-Meier log-rank tests (<0.01, <0.01, 0.045).
    CONCLUSION: Female investigators in orthopaedic sports medicine are authoring publications at a growing rate, increasing almost sevenfold from 1972 to 2018. Although women published two-thirds the volume of male investigators overall, and were more likely to be full-time research staff, gender differences in academic productivity and longevity have decreased over time.
    LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, Retrospective Cohort Design, Observational Study.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.5435/JAAOS-D-18-00669
  23. J Robot Surg. 2019 Apr 04.
      Since the first robotic assisted surgery in 1985, the number of procedures performed annually has steadily increased. Bibliometric analysis highlights the key studies that have influenced current practice in a field of interest. We use bibliometric analysis to evaluate the 100 most cited manuscripts on robotic surgery and discuss their content and influence on the evolution of the platform. The terms 'robotic surgery,' 'robot assisted surgery' and 'robot-assisted surgery' were used to search Thomson Reuters Web of Science database for full length, English language manuscripts. The top 100 cited manuscripts were analyzed by manuscript type, surgical specialty, first and last author, institution, year and journal of publication. 14,980 manuscripts were returned. Within the top 100 cited manuscripts, the majority featured urological surgery (n = 28), followed by combined results from multiple surgical subspecialties (n = 15) and colorectal surgery (n = 13). The majority of manuscripts featured case series/reports (n = 42), followed by comparative studies (n = 24). The most cited paper authored by Nelson et al. (432 citations) reviewed technological advances in the field. The year and country with the greatest number of publications were 2009 (n = 15) and the USA (n = 68). The Johns Hopkins University published the most top 100 manuscripts (n = 18). The 100 most cited manuscripts reflect the progression of robotic surgery from a basic instrument-holding platform to today's articulated instruments with 3D technology. From feasibility studies to multicenter trials, this analysis demonstrates how robotic assisted surgery has gained acceptance in urological, colorectal, general, cardiothoracic, orthopedic, maxillofacial and neuro surgery.
    Keywords:  Bibliometric analysis; Robot-assisted surgery; Robotic surgery
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11701-019-00956-9
  24. Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2019 Jan;22(1): 65-71
      Objectives: Recent evidence has shown underlying roles of gut dysbiosis and metabolic endotoxemia in obesity and its complications. Despite the large number of experimental and clinical researches performed on gut microbiota and obesity, no bibliometrics' study has been conducted so far. We aimed to assess the trend of global scientific publications in the field of gut microbiota and obesity.Materials and Methods: The bibliometrics' data from January 2000 to April 2017 were retrieved based on Scopus database. The analysis of the publication year, main source, citation, subject area, co-authorship network, and geographical distribution were carried out, accordingly. The data were analyzed using the Scopus analysis tools, SPSS version 15 and Visualizing Scientific Landscapes (VOS) viewer version 1.6.5.
    Results: Out of 4384 documents that were identified, the United States published the highest number (28.2%), followed by China and United Kingdom. The number of publications showed an increasing trend over the years of which the most productive year was 2016. The leading subject area was medicine. Most of published scientific documents were original articles and the top source was "PLoS One". The documents were cited totally 153576 times with average citations per article as 35.03, and h-index of 159. Top author in the co-authorship network assessment was "Wang J." from China.
    Conclusion: This study could provide practical sources to researchers to find highly cited studies. Moreover, the study could pave the way for researchers to be engaged in studies which potentially lead to more publication in the field.
    Keywords:  Bibliometrics; Endotoxemia; Gut flora; Gut microbiota; Obesity
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.22038/ijbms.2018.30203.7281
  25. Asian J Neurosurg. 2019 Jan-Mar;14(1):14(1): 126-130
      Aim: The aim of the study was to analyze the neurosurgical research output of Pakistan and compare it with that of developed countries.Methodology: We conducted a bibliometric analysis of publically available databases for all neurosurgical publications from Pakistan. All indexed peer-reviewed publications from January 2009 to December 2014 where at least one author was affiliated with any neurosurgical departments in Pakistan and research was conducted in Pakistan were selected. Manual and electronic search was done using MeSH terms to search for articles from Pakistan. Articles were then categorized according to design, subspecialty, region, and year.
    Results: Our search identified 121 articles during the defined study period (mean = 20.16 ± 5.2 papers/year). A relatively constant increase was noticed for the last 6 years, i.e., 2009-2014. From the total 121 references, 100 (82.4%) publications were from one city, and on subanalysis, 80 (66.1%) were from a single institution. Three primary authors cumulatively contributed to 76 (62.8%) of these publications. Almost two-thirds (n = 76, 62.8%) of these publications were published in either regional or international journals while only 37.2% (n = 45) were published in local nonneurosurgery-specific journals. Only one study in the 6-year study period was with Level I evidence (meta-analysis).
    Conclusion: Neurosurgery research in Pakistan has shown modest improvement in terms of quality and quantity. Collaboration between various centers and channelizing different resources to create national data registries along with basic science laboratories is much needed.
    Keywords:  Bibliometric analysis; Pakistan; neurosurgery research
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.4103/ajns.AJNS_286_17
  26. Asian J Psychiatr. 2019 Mar 26. pii: S1876-2018(18)31137-7. [Epub ahead of print]42 34-41
      There is an exponential growth in the field of biomedical literature over the years. Although numerous articles are published every year, few of them present important conceptual advances in that particular field and are found to be influential in the evolution of the field. The number of citations a publication receives can be used as a proxy marker of its impact on the field. Hence we aimed to analyze the top cited articles (n = 100) on obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) as of July 2018. Google scholar database was searched using a freely available software, Publish or Perish. Information related to number of citations, publication title, publication year, name of the journal, country of origin, author details, institution of origin, article type, and article design. The original research articles were further classified into descriptive/epidemiology, mechanism, management, scale/measurement, imaging and medical psychiatry. The citation classics suggest that clinical trials/management, epidemiology and neuroimaging were the most researched areas in the OCD research. These citation classics provide an important insight into the historical developments, like the role of serotonin and caudate in OCD. This approach of citation analysis provides an opportunity to retrieve the classic articles on OCD, and describes the trends in OCD research.
    Keywords:  Citation classics; OCD; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Publications; Top-cited
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2019.03.025