bims-evares Biomed News
on Evaluation of research
Issue of 2025–11–09
twenty-one papers selected by
Thomas Krichel, Open Library Society
  1. Characterizing the utilization of a federated clinical data network: A bibliometric analysis of TriNetX in Taiwan.
  2. A bibliometric study on mathematical oncology: interdisciplinarity, internationality, collaboration and trending topics.
  3. Gender disparity in the authorship of orthodontic papers and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: A ten-year bibliometric study.
  4. Representation of female authorship among American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons meetings from 2008 to 2022.
  5. Beyond the impact factor: Measuring journal quality.
  6. Collaboration networks and knowledge structure in cancer and cellular senescence research (2000-2025): a bibliometric perspective.
  7. A cross-country comparison of nursing research outputs in relation to funding: An artificial intelligence-enhanced multivariate analysis.
  8. Global disparities and data transparency in editorial boards of prominent Internal medicine journals including allied super specialities: A wake-up call.
  9. Science mapping of COVID-19 contributions in primary health care by OECD countries: A machine learning approach.
  10. A decade of publication trends in the Mountain West Clinical and Translational Research Infrastructure Network.
  11. Does social media promotion influence citation counts? A long-term follow-up to a randomised trial in a general neurosurgical journal.
  12. Agricultural science: a CiteSpace-based bibliometric analysis of global and Chinese research.
  13. J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society Research Grants: What is the Return on Invesments?
  14. A pilot study investigating the relationship between journal impact factor and methodological quality of real-world observational studies.
  15. Publication outcomes and research trends in bachelor's and master's theses in health sciences in Croatia: retrospective cohort study and survey of mentors.
  16. Tuberculosis and the Research Workforce Renewal Crisis in Brazil: How Can We Prevent a Future Without New Researchers?
  17. Reformation of science publishing: the Stockholm Declaration.
  18. How to Boost Research Productivity: An American Council of Educators in Plastic Surgery Cross-sectional Survey.
  19. In Reply: Predictive Value of Neurosurgery Applicant Metrics on Resident Academic Productivity.
  20. Letter: Predictive Value of Neurosurgery Applicant Metrics on Resident Academic Productivity.
  21. Scientometric review of health data quality (focusing on disease management).
  1. Tzu Chi Med J. 2025 Oct-Dec;37(4):37(4): 452-456
    Characterizing the utilization of a federated clinical data network: A bibliometric analysis of TriNetX in Taiwan.
    Joshua Wang, Kuo-Wang Tsai, Kuo-Cheng Lu.
       Objectives: TriNetX is a global network of deidentified electronic health record data that participating healthcare institutions can access and analyze. Despite its potential to build research capacity, the research produced using this network has not yet been independently analyzed. This study aims to characterize the research outputs produced by Taiwan-affiliated authors analyzing TriNetX data.
    Materials and Methods: A systematic search was performed to identify peer-reviewed Science Citation Index Expanded indexed publications with Taiwan-affiliated authors. The articles were screened and included if they were based on an analysis of data from the TriNetX platform. A bibliometric analysis was then performed to examine the composition of authorship teams, collaborations between countries/institutions, the medical specialties present, and the rankings of journals that published the articles.
    Results: Ninety-two studies with Taiwan affiliations using TriNetX were identified and included. An exponential increase in publications between 2022 and 2024 was identified. 75 (81.52%) of the articles were published in Q1 journals. Most medical specialties were represented in the dataset, with many Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology publications present. Chung Shan Medical University Hospital and Chi Mei Medical Center were identified as influential institutions that accounted for most of the publications.
    Conclusion: TriNetX is used regularly by Taiwan-based clinical researchers to conduct impactful research across a variety of medical specialties. The platform will play an increasingly important role in Taiwan's medical research. Further studies examining how TriNetX is utilized before publication are needed to better understand how the network influences research capacity building in Taiwan hospitals.
    Keywords:  Bibliometric analysis; Big clinical data; Research capacity building; Taiwan; TriNetX
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.4103/tcmj.tcmj_279_24
  2. Bull Math Biol. 2025 Nov 04. 87(12): 174
    A bibliometric study on mathematical oncology: interdisciplinarity, internationality, collaboration and trending topics.
    Kira Pugh, Linnéa Gyllingberg, Stanislav Stratiev, Sara Hamis.
      Mathematical oncology is an interdisciplinary research field where the mathematical sciences meet cancer research. Being situated at the intersection of these two fields makes mathematical oncology highly dynamic, as practicing researchers are incentivised to quickly adapt to both technical and medical research advances. Determining the scope of mathematical oncology is therefore not straightforward; however, it is important for purposes related to funding allocation, education, scientific communication, and community organisation. To address this issue, we here conduct a bibliometric analysis of mathematical oncology. We compare our results to the broader field of mathematical biology, and position our findings within theoretical science-of-science frameworks. Based on article metadata and citation flows, our results provide evidence that mathematical oncology has undergone a significant evolution since the 1960s marked by increased interactions with other disciplines, geographical expansion, larger research teams, and greater diversity in studied topics. The latter finding contributes to the greater discussion on which models different research communities consider to be valuable in the era of big data and machine learning. Further, the results presented in this study quantitatively motivate that international collaboration networks should be supported to enable new countries to enter and remain in the field, and that mathematical oncology benefits both mathematics and the life sciences.
    Keywords:  Bibliometric analysis; Mathematical biology; Mathematical cancer research; Science of science; Scientometrics
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11538-025-01544-9
  3. J World Fed Orthod. 2025 Nov 03. pii: S2212-4438(25)00805-7. [Epub ahead of print]
    Gender disparity in the authorship of orthodontic papers and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: A ten-year bibliometric study.
    Aline Goerll Henriques, Tiago Fialho, Beatriz Oliveira da Silva, Eduardo Terumi Blatt Ohira, Karina Maria Salvatore de Freitas, Fabrício Pinelli Valarelli, Célia Regina Maio Pinzan-Vercelino, Paula Cotrin.
       BACKGROUND: Women remain underrepresented in the academic world. This study aimed to compare the numbers of female and male authors in high-impact orthodontic journals during the pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic periods.
    MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 7902 papers published in eight orthodontic journals (American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Angle Orthodontist, European Journal of Orthodontics, Journal of Orofacial Orthopedics, Journal of the World Federation of Orthodontists, Korean Journal of Orthodontics, Orthodontics & Craniofacial Research, and Progress in Orthodontics) were screened. They were divided into two groups: Group 1 (G1): Pre-pandemic (2015-2019) and Group 2 (G2): Post-pandemic (2020-2024). The data were collected manually, including the journal, type of study, gender, and authorship position. Descriptive statistical analyses were used. The sex of the authors before and after the pandemic was compared using the chi-square test. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the total number of authors and the total number of male and female authors.
    RESULTS: 5494 papers were evaluated and included in the study. There was no significant difference in gender distribution in single-authored papers. After the pandemic, there was a significant increase in women in first and last author positions. The total number of authors and proportion of female authorship in intermediate positions increased significantly post-pandemic. The European Journal of Orthodontics was the only journal that had more female first authors than males in the post-pandemic period.
    CONCLUSION: The pandemic has not negatively affected female participation in orthodontic publications. There was a significant increase in female authorship after 2020, indicating a gradual reduction in gender disparities in this field.
    Keywords:  Authorship; COVID-19; Coauthorship; Gender inequality; Orthodontics; Researchers; Women
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejwf.2025.09.006
  4. JSES Rev Rep Tech. 2025 Nov;5(4): 693-698
    Representation of female authorship among American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons meetings from 2008 to 2022.
    Zachary T Grace, Martinus Megalla, Alexander K Hahn, Marissa Gedman, Amanda Spraggs-Hughes, Robert A Arciero.
       Background: Women have historically been underrepresented in orthopedic surgery, which has impacted overall recruitment and the field's ability for continued growth. The purpose of this study is to assess the representation of female authorship among abstracts presented at American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) annual meetings.
    Methods: Program agenda documents from 2008 to 2022 ASES annual (closed, member-only) meetings were evaluated. Information from the first, second, and last abstract authors was obtained, including sex, academic degrees, and ASES membership status. Member directories were utilized to assess female representation at the societal level. The academic influence of each respective author was characterized through a bibliometric tool known as the h-index.
    Results: A total of 1,753 authors were associated with abstracts presented at the ASES annual meetings, including 150 female (8.6%), 1,569 male (89.5%), and 34 (1.9%) unknown-sex authors. Females were significantly more likely to be listed as second author (78/150, 52.0%), as opposed to first (51/150, 34.0%) or last author (21/150, 14.0%, P < .001). There was a gradual increase in female representation at the societal level from 2007 (6/290, 2.1%), to 2019 (53/1,000, 5.3%), and 2024 (81/1,084, 7.5%). Male authors were found to have significantly higher average number of published documents (P = < .001), citations (P = < .001), and h-index (P = < .001) compared to female authors.
    Discussion: The evaluation of sex-based authorship is one objective measure to assess the involvement of women at annual societal conferences. Our analysis demonstrates female representation at the society level has steadily increased during the study period. Females were more likely to be listed as second authors, as opposed to the first or last author positions. Efforts within orthopedic societies to increase female recruitment and authorship are pivotal to advancing member diversity at the societal level.
    Keywords:  ASES; Author; Closed meeting; Conference abstracts; Female; Meeting abstract; Open meeting
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xrrt.2025.06.007
  5. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop. 2025 Nov;pii: S0889-5406(25)00369-5. [Epub ahead of print]168(5): 519-521
    Beyond the impact factor: Measuring journal quality.
    Jae Hyun Park.
      
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajodo.2025.09.001
  6. Discov Oncol. 2025 Nov 04. 16(1): 2018
    Collaboration networks and knowledge structure in cancer and cellular senescence research (2000-2025): a bibliometric perspective.
    He Zhu, Shuangjia Pan, Yujia Zhou, Baozhu Yi, Yuqing Jing, Luyi Ruan, Lingxiao Huang, Xueqiong Zhu.
      Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, posing substantial public health challenges. Cellular senescence, a stress-induced cell fate characterized by stable cell-cycle arrest and a hypersecretory state, plays dual roles in tissue repair and tumor suppression. Although the relationship between cancer and cellular senescence has been widely investigated, no comprehensive bibliometric analysis has been reported. This study aimed to map the global research landscape, identify hotspots, and reveal emerging trends in this field. Publications from 2000 to 2025 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection, including only articles and reviews, and analyzed using VOSviewer and CiteSpace. A total of 5790 papers were identified, showing a steady increase in publications and citations over the past 25 years. The USA ranked first in publication output and institutional productivity, followed by China, while Judith Campisi was the most prolific and cited author. Hotspots included the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), immunotherapy, tumor microenvironment, secretory phenotype, and molecular hallmarks of senescence. These findings indicate that cancer and cellular senescence research is expanding rapidly, with secretory phenotypes and molecular hallmarks representing promising directions for future investigation.
    Keywords:  Bibliometrics; Cancer; Cellular senescence; CiteSpace; Visualized analysis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-025-03854-9
  7. Nurs Outlook. 2025 Nov 06. pii: S0029-6554(25)00236-2. [Epub ahead of print]73(6): 102583
    A cross-country comparison of nursing research outputs in relation to funding: An artificial intelligence-enhanced multivariate analysis.
    Elena Sblendorio, Marco Tomietto, Vincenzo Dentamaro, Alessio Lo Cascio, Guglielmo Imbriaco, Michela Piredda, Giancarlo Cicolini.
       BACKGROUND: Global nursing research investments aim to improve health outcomes, yet the funding-quality relationship remains poorly understood.
    PURPOSE: To analyze international nursing research trends (2017-2022) across the 29 most productive countries, examining correlations between declared funding and publication quantity and quality.
    METHODS: AI-enhanced scientometric analysis employed a Python algorithm matching extracted journals for each country's publication to corresponding quartiles (Q1-Q4), using Scimago's 2022 Scopus update. Two quality metrics -the ratio of total citations to total publications (TC/TP) and the proportion of Q1 publications to total publications (Q1/TP)- were correlated. Local Outlier Factor technique enabled outlier detection.
    FINDINGS: Nursing research demonstrated quadratic growth. The two quality metrics strongly correlated (r = 0.916, p< 0.001). The number of publications declaring funding correlated highly with publication quantity (r = 0.955, p < 0.001), but not with quality (r = -0.077, p = 0.686). The USA led in publication volume, while the UK, and several European nations led in quality. Notable growth occurred in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, South Korea, and Turkey.
    DISCUSSION: Findings suggest that while funding drives publication quantity, quality enhancement requires comprehensive investment strategies, including indirect expenses for institutional research infrastructure and capacity building.
    Keywords:  Brain drain; Capacity-building; Nursing research; Qualitative research; Quantitative research; Research investment effectiveness; Resource allocation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2025.102583
  8. Indian J Med Ethics. 2025 Oct-Dec;X(4):X(4): 278-287
    Global disparities and data transparency in editorial boards of prominent Internal medicine journals including allied super specialities: A wake-up call.
    Jasmeet Singh, Pratyush Kumar, Abhishek Kumar.
       BACKGROUND: Global healthcare research suffers from inequalities, favouring high-income countries, which hampers fair healthcare access. Low and lower-middle-income nations face limited participation and editorial bias, posing concerns for research integrity. Potential reasons for this pattern might be the overrepresentation of researchers from the Global North on editorial boards, disparities in the quality of scientific research, lack of support for local research initiatives, and challenges posed by language barriers. The aim of this study was to assess data transparency and representation patterns of low- and lower-middle-income nations on Editorial Boards of prominent Internal Medicine journals.
    METHODS: The top 50 journals in the "Internal medicine including allied super specialities" subject category were selected based on SCImago journal ranking, journal impact factor, literature research and journal citation report. We examined the editorial boards of these journals using the World Bank Income Criteria.
    RESULTS: Out of 2406 editorial board members of leading journals, only 5(0.21%) were from low-income countries (LICs), while lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) and upper-middle- income countries (UMICs) constituted 64(2.67%) and 176(7.31%), respectively. High-income countries (HICs) dominated editorial boards, with 2161(89.8%) representation.
    CONCLUSION: Editorial boards of top Internal Medicine and allied super-specialty journals lack adequate representation from low and lower-middle-income countries. This deficiency has significant implications, affecting knowledge production, policy development, and the overall progress of science and research on a global scale. Urgent measures are required to establish a fair and inclusive scholarly publishing system that caters to researchers from all regions.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.20529/IJME.2025.045
  9. Digit Health. 2025 Jan-Dec;11:11 20552076251389341
    Science mapping of COVID-19 contributions in primary health care by OECD countries: A machine learning approach.
    Muhammet Damar, Benita Hosseini, Andrew David Pinto, Omer Aydin, Umit Cali.
       Purpose: Our study comprehensively assesses how Canada and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries have supported researchers, research institutes and their scientific productivity in primary health care (PHC), one of the areas most affected by COVID-19.
    Method: We analyzed research contributions among OECD countries and assessed their scientific productivity during COVID-19 using bibliometric methods and machine learning techniques. Our analysis includes co-authorship networks, funding patterns, co-citation analysis, thematic mapping, factor analysis, and topic modeling through latent Dirichlet allocation.
    Results: This study analyzes 1061 articles and review papers involving 5765 researchers from OECD countries. PHC systems played a crucial role in the global response to SARS-CoV2 but faced significant challenges. Canada ranks third in PHC research output and forth in COVID-19 research among OECD nations. The findings reveal Canada's strong collaborative ties with countries such as the USA, UK, and Australia. However, disparities in PHC scientific productivity across OECD countries remain, with some nations showing minimal progress.
    Conclusions: Our study highlights the importance of academic collaboration in addressing pandemic-related crises. The study recommends enhancing international collaboration, led by countries such as Canada, the USA, and the UK, to strengthen PHC systems during global health crises. It is deemed necessary to include experts and academics from the field of PHC in such structures. It also emphasizes the need for academic journals to improve transparency in funding sources through automated extraction of bibliometric data from platforms such as Web of Science and Scopus, which is crucial for shaping future health and education policies.
    Keywords:  COVID-19; Canada; OECD countries; machine learning; primary health care; research funding; scientific productivity
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076251389341
  10. J Transl Sci. 2025 ;10(1):
    A decade of publication trends in the Mountain West Clinical and Translational Research Infrastructure Network.
    Lorraine Evangelista, Reimund Serafica, Joseph Guerrero-Lopez, Dagmawit Teka, Xiangxue Xiao, Yingke Xu, Francisco S Sy.
       Background: The Mountain West Clinical and Translational Research Infrastructure Network (MW-CTR-IN) promotes junior investigators' careers via robust mentorship and faculty development. A key success indicator is the diversity and volume of scholarly publications. We employed scientometric methods to evaluate both database and non-database outputs-including academic works not traditionally indexed in bibliographic databases-over ten years, examining publication types, thematic focuses, and factors such as gender and discipline.
    Methods: We analyzed 1,554 peer-reviewed publications (1,141 from databases and 413 from non-database sources) published between 2014 and 2024. Publications were categorized by type and translational research stage using predefined criteria. Two independent coders classified the manuscripts. Gender and discipline differences were assessed.
    Results: From 2014 to 2024, 1,554 peer-reviewed publications were documented-1,141 database articles (68%) and 413 (31%) non-database outputs. Notably, publication numbers nearly doubled between 2020 and 2022 compared to previous years. Early database publications primarily focused on T0 and T1 levels (preclinical and basic research). In contrast, later years (2020, 2022, and 2023) saw significant growth in T3 and T4 research, indicating a shift toward advanced translational efforts. Males predominated in basic science (28% vs. 14%, p < .001).
    Conclusions: Rising publication trends underscore MW-CTR-IN's success in building junior research capacity and reveal the remarkable impact of both traditional and non-traditional scholarly outputs in guiding equitable, interdisciplinary training. The inclusion of non-database publications-such as guidelines, protocols, and technical innovations-offers a more comprehensive evaluation of academic productivity and translational impact.
    Keywords:  bibliometrics; grey literature; health inequities; scientometrics; translational research
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.15761/jts.1000483
  11. Neurosurg Rev. 2025 Nov 05. 48(1): 759
    Does social media promotion influence citation counts? A long-term follow-up to a randomised trial in a general neurosurgical journal.
    Albert Q Schmidt, Sven Theiler, Mateo Tomas Fariña Nuñez, Victor Gabriel El-Hajj, Moira Vieli, Bianca Battilana, Alex Alamri, Katrin Rabiei, Laura Lippa, Claire Karekezi, Angelos Kolias, Carlo Serra, Luca Regli, Tiit Mathiesen, Victor E Staartjes.
      Social media promotion has become mainstream for neurosurgical publications. Any effect of promotion on citation counts would significantly influence academia and is currently not well-studied. We previously reported that structured social media promotion of neurosurgical articles had no significant effect on citation counts, website visits, or PDF downloads at one- and two-years post promotion. In this study, we assess whether a longer follow-up period has altered these previously reported results, since citation counts typically follow a Poisson-like distribution, increasing gradually and often peaking several years after publication. We followed up the original 177 articles published in Acta Neurochirurgica between May and September 2020 which were randomised either to the social media intervention (single Twitter/X post, n = 89) or to the control group (no promotion, n = 88). The primary outcome (citation counts) and secondary outcomes (website visits and altmetrics) were reassessed 4.5 years post-promotion. Between-group comparisons were performed using Welch's t-tests. A sensitivity analysis was conducted using negative binomial regression models, better approximating the non-linear distribution of citation counts. At 4.5 years, there was no significant difference between intervention and control groups for citation counts (12.76 ± 12.18 vs. 16.47 ± 21.92, p = 0.168) and website visits (1448 ± 1489 vs. 1503 ± 1692, p = 0.818). Altmetric scores were significantly higher in the intervention group (5.15 ± 3.88 vs. 1.74 ± 3.68, p < 0.001). The sensitivity analysis confirmed these findings, showing no significant difference in citation counts (IRR 0.78; 95% CI: 0.57-1.05; p = 0.101) but a significant increase in Altmetric scores (IRR 2.96; 95% CI: 2.09-4.19; p < 0.001). A longer observation time did not result in a significant difference in citation counts or website visits. Promoted articles were consistently associated with increased Altmetric scores. A low-intensity social media promotion may broaden visibility but does not influence long-term citations. More intensive promotion strategies have demonstrated short-term gains, but their ability to produce sustained long-term impact remains uncertain and warrants further investigation.
    Keywords:  Citations; Neurosurgery; Randomized Controlled Trial; Social Media; Twitter; X
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10143-025-03904-4
  12. J Sci Food Agric. 2025 Nov 07.
    Agricultural science: a CiteSpace-based bibliometric analysis of global and Chinese research.
    Cai Li, Cheng Shujie, Fazeelat Aziz, Yang Jiahui, Yu Shuting.
      In the face of global population growth, climate volatility and mounting ecological pressures, agricultural science is shifting from traditional yield-centered paradigms toward integrated, sustainable development models. This study employs CiteSpace (version 6.1.5) to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 1780 scholarly publications on agricultural science research from 2000 to 2024, drawn from both the Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. By adopting a systematic process of article selection as represented by the PRISMA flowchart, the dataset was refined through rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure analytical robustness. CiteSpace, a powerful visualization and analysis tool, and VOSviewer were used to conduct keyword co-occurrence mapping, cluster analysis, temporal evolution modeling and institutional collaboration analysis. The results reveal three dominant global research themes: climate change adaptation, agricultural system resilience and technological innovation. Global trends augment precision agriculture, carbon management and digitalization. Chinese studies continue to focus on yield increment and improvement of principal crops, underlined by the growing application of smart agriculture, ecological administration and rural revitalization policies. Institutional research finds Jiangsu University to be an essential node in China's agricultural science network. By synthesizing cross-regional, bilingual datasets, this study offers new evidence for the converging but also diverging paths of agricultural research worldwide and in China. Such evidence is supportive of the use of evidence-based policy making, academic strategy and innovative agricultural reform in the context of sustainable development. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.
    Keywords:  agricultural science; climate change; institutional collaboration; knowledge mapping; precision farming; sustainable agriculture
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.70288
  13. J Am Acad Orthop Surg Glob Res Rev. 2025 Nov 01. 9(11):
    J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society Research Grants: What is the Return on Invesments?
    Lancelot Benn, Susan Stephens, Mark Ehioghae, Rishi Balkissoon, Brendan A Williams, Shaina Lipa, David N Bernstein, Gbolabo Sokunbi, Barrett Woods, Wakenda Tyler, Jaysson Brooks, Randall C Morgan, Kwadwo Owusu-Akyaw, Wayne Johnson, Eric Carson, George V Russell, Addisu Mesfin.
       INTRODUCTION: The J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society (JRGOS) aims to increase diversity in orthopaedic surgery and promote high-quality musculoskeletal care for all. Through targeted research funding, JRGOS supports projects aligned with its mission. Despite awarding over $300,000 in research grants since 2011, the return on investment (ROI) of this program has not been analyzed. This study evaluates the ROI of JRGOS research grants from 2011 to 2023.
    METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of all JRGOS research grants awarded between 2011 and 2023. Data included recipient demographics, grant titles, award year, institution, and amount. PubMed and Google Scholar were used to identify resulting publications as of March 8, 2025. We also recorded recipients' practice setting and years in practice at the time of award.
    RESULTS: From 2011 to 2023, JRGOS awarded 52 grants totaling $308,765. Recipients were 40% female (n = 21) and 60% male (n = 31). Among 26 practicing orthopaedic surgeon recipients, 88% (n = 23) were in academic practice and 12% (n = 3) in private practice, with a median of 3 years (range 0-25) in independent practice. Most grants (73.1%) supported clinical research. The overall ROI, defined as the proportion of grants resulting in at least one publication, was 67.3% (35/52), with practicing orthopaedic surgeons achieving an ROI of 92.3%. In total, 72 publications appeared in 40 journals (mean impact factor 3.6), most commonly in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
    CONCLUSION: JRGOS grants demonstrate high efficiency, with a 67.3% ROI and frequent publication in high-impact journals. Practicing orthopaedic surgeons achieved the highest ROI (92.3%).
    DOI:  https://doi.org/e25.00314
  14. Front Res Metr Anal. 2025 ;10 1679842
    A pilot study investigating the relationship between journal impact factor and methodological quality of real-world observational studies.
    Digant Gupta, Amandeep Kaur, Mansi Malik.
       Introduction: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the association between journal Impact Factor (IF) and study quality in real-world observational studies. The secondary objective was to explore whether the association changes as a function of different study factors (study design, funding type and geographic location).
    Methods: Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). IFs were obtained from journal websites. The association between journal IF and NOS score was evaluated firstly using Spearman's correlation coefficient, and secondly using one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).
    Results: We selected 457 studies published in 208 journals across 11 consecutive systematic literature reviews (SLRs) conducted at our organization over the last 5 years. Most studies were cross-sectional and from North America or Europe. Mean (SD) NOS score was 6.6 (1.03) and mean (SD) IF was 5.2 (4.5). Overall, there was a weak positive correlation between NOS score and IF (Spearman's coefficient (ρ) = 0.23 [95% CI: 0.13-0.31]; p < 0.001). There was no correlation between NOS score and IF for prospective cohort studies (ρ = 0.07 [95% CI:-0.12-0.25]) and industry-funded studies (ρ = 0.06 [95% CI:-0.09-0.21]). Based on ANOVA, the effect size, eta squared (η2), was 0.04 (95% CI: 0.01-0.08), indicating a small effect.
    Discussion: While there is some correlation between journal quality and study quality, our findings indicate that high-quality research can be found in journals with lower IF, and assessing study quality requires careful review of study design, methodology, analysis, interpretation, and significance of the findings. Notably, in industry-funded studies, no correlation was found between methodological quality and IF.
    Keywords:  Newcastle-Ottawa Scale; critical appraisal; impact factor; observational study; study quality
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/frma.2025.1679842
  15. PLoS One. 2025 ;20(11): e0335350
    Publication outcomes and research trends in bachelor's and master's theses in health sciences in Croatia: retrospective cohort study and survey of mentors.
    Kristina Kraljic, Vesna Mijoc, Marin Cargo, Ognjen Barcot, Marta Civljak, Mario Marendic, Damir Sapunar, Andrea Vuksa, Tea Kabic, Darko Novak, Jelena Medakovic, Kata Ivanisevic, Zrinka Puharic, Natasa Skitarelic, Dijana Majstorovic, Marijana Neuberg, Snjezana Cukljek, Aleksandar Racz, Sanja Zoranic, Livia Puljak.
       OBJECTIVES: Conducting original research within bachelor's and master's theses (dissertations) and publishing thesis results in scientific journals has multiple advantages. This study aimed to analyze types and publication outcomes of bachelor's and master's theses defended by students of health sciences studies in Croatia.
    DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of bachelor's and master's theses of students of health studies in Croatia, defended by May 14, 2022, and a cross-sectional study of mentors who were surveyed for publication output.
    SETTING: We analyzed theses from repositories. Thesis mentors were surveyed via e-mail about the publication of the thesis content in scholarly journals. Additionally, three online sources (PubMed, Google Scholar, and Google) were used to find theses-based publications.
    PARTICIPANTS: We surveyed mentors of bachelor's and master's theses of health sciences students in Croatia.
    RESULTS: We analyzed 9861 theses, 7979 (81%) bachelor's and 1882 (19%) master's theses. Most (66%) of master's theses were based on original research, compared to 21% of bachelor's theses. Mentors of 3910 (40%) theses responded to the survey, indicating that 176/3910 (4.5%) of theses results were published in scientific journals. Through additional search of online sources, we found that from all analyzed theses, 276 (2.8%) articles were published in a scholarly journal. Among published articles, 229 (83%) were published in Croatian journals.
    CONCLUSIONS: Most analyzed theses were not based on original research. Results of a few theses were published in a scientific journal. Institutions should encourage mentors and students to conduct original research within theses and to publish thesis results in a journal, to further develop health sciences.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0335350
  16. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. 2025 ;pii: S0037-86822025000100204. [Epub ahead of print]58 e01332025
    Tuberculosis and the Research Workforce Renewal Crisis in Brazil: How Can We Prevent a Future Without New Researchers?
    Beatriz Barreto-Duarte, Klauss Villalva-Serra, Ricardo Alexandre Arcêncio, Julio Croda, Ethel Leonor Noia Maciel, Afrânio Lineu Kritski, Bruno Bezerril Andrade.
      Tuberculosis (TB) is among the oldest and deadliest infectious diseases, particularly when associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and antimicrobial resistance. Despite the progress in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, global elimination remains elusive and is driven largely by socioeconomic inequalities and systemic challenges. Although scientific research is a cornerstone of the WHO End TB Strategy, it has been chronically underfunded and undervalued in Brazil's health agenda. One critical consequence is the weakening of pipelines for future TB research. Funding shortages, lack of incentives, and the shifting attention toward s other emerging diseases have made it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain scientists in the field of TB. This opinion paper aimed to explore the historical role of Brazilian science in advancing TB control while addressing the emerging crisis of renewing the country's TB scientific workforce. We conducted a narrative synthesis of the available literature, reviewing impactful peer-reviewed articles produced by Brazilian scientists in the field of TB science, alongside official documents from the Brazilian Ministry of Health. This was complemented by a bibliometric analysis of the output of TB-related PhD theses (2016-2024) and PubMed-indexed publications (2001-2024) from Brazilian institutions. Finally, we discuss the systemic barriers affecting early career researchers and outline strategies for revitalizing interest and sustaining scientific progress. These include targeted TB research funds through public-private partnerships, structured mentorship programs, and competitive early career fellowships. Such interventions are essential for reversing the current decline in TB research engagement and ensuring that Brazil continues to contribute to global TB elimination efforts while preserving its scientific legacy.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0133-2025
  17. R Soc Open Sci. 2025 Nov;12(11): 251805
    Reformation of science publishing: the Stockholm Declaration.
    Bernhard Sabel, Dan Larhammar.
      Science relies on integrity and trustworthiness. But scientists under career pressure are lured to purchase fake publications from 'paper mills' that use AI-generated data, text and image fabrication. The number of low-quality or fraudulent publications is rising to hundreds of thousands per year, which-if unchecked-will damage the scientific and economic progress of our societies. The result is editor and reviewer fatigue, irreproducible experiments, misguided experiments, disinformation and escalating costs that devour funding from taxpayers intended for research. It is high time to reevaluate current publishing models and outline a global plan to stop this unhealthy development. A conference was therefore organized by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to draft an action plan with specific recommendations, as follows. (i) Academia should resume control of publishing using non-profit publishing models (e.g. diamond open-access). (ii) Adjust incentive systems to merit quality, not quantity, in a reputation economy where the gaming of publication numbers and citation metrics distorts the perception of academic excellence. (iii) Implement mechanisms to prevent and detect fake publications and fraud which are independent of publishers. (iv) Draft and implement legislations, regulations and policies to increase publishing quality and integrity. This is a call to action for universities, academies, science organizations and funders to unite and join this effort.
    Keywords:  AI; artificial intelligence; fake publications; fraud; libraries; paper mill; scholarly academies; science integrity
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251805
  18. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2025 Nov;13(11): e7253
    How to Boost Research Productivity: An American Council of Educators in Plastic Surgery Cross-sectional Survey.
    Shannon Su, Ambika Menon, Christopher Stewart, Hannah Jones, Paul Ghareeb.
       Background: Understanding barriers to research is crucial for optimizing the productivity and impact of busy physician-scientists and is an increasingly important metric for students and physicians to advance their careers. The purpose of this study was to identify common barriers to research productivity.
    Methods: A survey was distributed to members of the American Council of Educators in Plastic Surgery. The questions focused on demographics, research productivity, and barriers to research. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed, with significance defined as a P value less than 0.05.
    Results: A total of 109 people responded to the survey: 42 medical students, 19 plastic surgery residents or fellows, 7 junior attendings, and 41 senior attendings. Among people who had more than 10 completed projects, 53.8% also had fewer than 5 incomplete projects. A comparison between successful individuals and the remainder of the cohort found a difference in the percentage of people whose programs had dedicated research staff, provided institutional support for research, and offered travel reimbursement. Predictive factors for success included being a post-graduate year1-3 (odds ratio [OR] 13.3, P = 0.006), junior attending (OR 10.5, P = 0.026), or senior attending (OR 7.8, P = 0.001); having dedicated research staff (OR = 6.1, P = 0.0019); and receiving travel reimbursement (OR 3.1, P = 0.032).
    Conclusions: Programs that support research productivity with dedicated research staff and adequate travel reimbursement are likely to have research success. In addition, individuals with high academic productivity are more likely to have the highest number of unsuccessful projects.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1097/GOX.0000000000007253
  19. Neurosurgery. 2025 Nov 07.
    In Reply: Predictive Value of Neurosurgery Applicant Metrics on Resident Academic Productivity.
    Lauren Banko, Wenya Linda Bi.
      
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1227/neu.0000000000003847
  20. Neurosurgery. 2025 Nov 07.
    Letter: Predictive Value of Neurosurgery Applicant Metrics on Resident Academic Productivity.
    Matheus Hemais, Pedro Borges, Ankush Chandra.
      
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1227/neu.0000000000003848
  21. Digit Health. 2025 Jan-Dec;11:11 20552076251377953
    Scientometric review of health data quality (focusing on disease management).
    Saeid Shirshahi, Alireza Rahimi, Hossein Beigi-Harchegani, Majid Jangi, Reza Rezayatmand.
       Objective: The correlation between health data quality and disease management is of utmost importance. Optimal data quality enhances decision making, minimizes medical errors, and boosts efficiency in disease management. Hence, current research is focused on mapping of co-occurrences and the relationship between health data quality and disease management.
    Methods: The present study employed a scientometric approach known as co-occurrence analysis to analyze the data extracted from the Web of Science. Our research community aimed to investigate the association between health data quality and disease management, encompassing all documents produced in this field from 1991 to September 2023. The data was meticulously scrutinized and recorded on 1 October 2023. To generate graphs and tables, we utilized Excel 2019 software utilized, while VOSviewer scientometric software was employed to create co-occurrence maps.
    Results: The top three countries with the highest scientific production in this field were the United States, England, and Australia. The study also uncovered three clusters centered on data quality, management, and public health. Co-occurrence maps drawn from the study showed that accuracy, coverage, and completeness of health data are related to the provision of healthcare and therapeutic interventions, as well as treatment outcomes. Furthermore, management was found to be associated with prevention, epidemic, prevalence, disease, and mortality rate. The study also revealed that data quality is linked to evaluation, validity, reliability, public health, and quality of life.
    Conclusion: It is clear from this research that accuracy, coverage, and completeness are crucial characteristics of data quality. These factors play a key role in the management of prevention, epidemics, and disease outbreaks, as well as and mortality rates. Evaluating data quality is also important as it can have a positive impact on the quality of life, public health, and health information technologies. This study has the potential to be very useful in improving the quality of health data, the clinical informationist performances, and in turn, promoting more effective disease management.
    Keywords:  Co-occurrence; data quality; disease management
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076251377953
This page is being maintained by Thomas Krichel. It was last updated on 2025‒11‒27 at 6:25.