Statistical characteristics of analytical studies published in Peruvian medical journals from 2021 to 2022: A methodological study.

OBJECTIVE: While statistical analysis plays a crucial role in medical science, some published studies might have utilized suboptimal analysis methods, potentially undermining the credibility of their findings. Critically appraising analytical approaches can help elevate the standard of evidence and ensure clinicians and other stakeholders have trustworthy results on which to base decisions. The aim of the present study was to examine the statistical characteristics of original articles published in Peruvian medical journals in 2021-2022. DESIGN AND SETTING: We performed a methodological study of articles published between 2021 and 2022 from nine medical journals indexed in SciELO-Peru, Scopus, and Medline. We included original articles that conducted analytical analyses (i.e., association between variables). The statistical variables assessed were: statistical software used for analysis, sample size, and statistical methods employed (measures of effect), controlling for confounders, and the method employed for confounder control or epidemiological approaches. RESULTS: We included 313 articles (ranging from 11 to 77 across journals), of which 67.7% were cross-sectional studies. While 90.7% of articles specified the statistical software used, 78.3% omitted details on sample size calculation. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were commonly employed, whereas measures of association were less common. Only 13.4% of articles (ranging from 0% to 39% across journals) presented measures of effect controlling for confounding and explained the criteria for selecting such confounders. CONCLUSION: This study revealed important statistical deficiencies within analytical studies published in Peruvian journals, including inadequate reporting of sample sizes, absence of measures of association and confounding control, and suboptimal explanations regarding the methodologies employed for adjusted analyses. These findings highlight the need for better statistical reporting and researcher-editor collaboration to improve the quality of research production and dissemination in Peruvian journals.

Impact of Open Access Policy on Brazilian Science and Global Trends.

Open access (OA) publishing provides free online access to research articles without subscription fees. In Brazil, absence of financial support from academic institutions and limited government policies pose challenges to OA publication. Here, we used data from the Web of Science and Scopus to compare with global trends in journal accessibility and scientific quality metrics. Brazilian authors publish more OA articles, particularly in Global South journals. While OA correlates with quality for global authors, it had no impact on Brazilian science. To maximize impact, Brazilian authors should prioritize Q1 journals regardless of OA status. High-impact or Global North journal publication seems more relevant for Brazilian science than OA. Our findings indicate that the present open access policy has been ineffective to improve the impact of Brazilian science, providing insights to guide the formulation of scientific public policies.

[Publication in indexed journals is imperative for communication in contemporary medicine]. / La publicación en revistas indexadas es imperativa para la comunicación en la medicina contemporánea.

No Abstract available.

Doctoral theses at the medical faculty of Tunis from 2015 to 2017: Scientific publication rates and associated factors.

INTRODUCTION: Medical doctoral thesis publication is a way to ensure knowledge dissemination and to increase the scientific research visibility. AIM: To determine thesis-related publication's rate at the Faculty of Medicine of Tunis (FMT), and identify associated factors. METHODS: Cross-sectional retrospective study including medical theses registered at the FMT over the study period (2015-2017). All publications related to the defended thesis were collated by scanning Scopus and Google scholar databases, up to April 2022. Binary logistic regression was performed to assess associated factors to publication. Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR) were presented with 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: Out of 878 defended theses, 11.8% (n=104) were published. Out of 130 publications in total, 90 (69.2%) interested Scopus-indexed journals with a mean Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) of 0.70. The publication was in English in 73.1% of cases. The median time between the thesis defense and the first scientific publication was 15 months. In multivariable analysis, associated factors to "at least one thesis-related publication" were the resident status of the candidate (AOR=2.35 [1.2-4.7]) and the grade assistant professor of the thesis supervisor (AOR=2.48 [1.1-5.6]). CONCLUSION: Compared to the number of defended theses, the thesis-related publication's rate at the FMT is relatively low. Thus, enhanced support for doctoral students to optimize their engagement in research and to consequently promote scientific publication is highly recommended.

Trends in Gender Authorship of Abstract Presentations at Plastic Surgery the Meeting: A Decade Long Analysis.

ABSTRACT: Current literature fails to examine gender differences of authors presenting abstracts at national plastic surgery meetings. This study aims to assess the ratio of female to male abstract presentations at Plastic Surgery The Meeting (PSTM).The gender of all abstract presenters from PSTM between 2010 and 2020 was recorded. The primary outcome variable was authorship (first, second, or last). Trends in gender authorship were assessed via Cochran-Armitage trend tests. Chi-square was utilized to evaluate the association between author gender and presentation type and author gender and subspecialty.Between 2010 and 2020, 3653 abstracts were presented (oral = 3035, 83.1%; poster = 618, 16.9%) with 19,328 (5175 females, 26.8%) authors. Of these, 34.5%, 32.0%, and 18.6% of first, second, and last authors were female, respectively. The total proportion of female authors increased from 153 (20.4%) in 2010 to 1065 (33.1%) by 2020. The proportion of female first, second, and last authors increased from 21.8% to 44.8%, 24.0% to 45.3%, and 14.3% to 22.1%, respectively, and demonstrated a positive linear trend ( P < 0.001 ). The proportion of female first authors in aesthetics (23.9%) was lower than that for breast (41.8%), cranio/maxillofacial/head & neck (38.5%), practice management (43.3%), and research/technology (39.4%) ( P < 0.001 ).Our study demonstrates a significant increase in female representation as first, second, and last authors in abstract presentations at PSTM within the last decade, although the absolute prevalence remains low.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Impact on Research Publications in Critical Care.

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated a significant transformation of scientific journals. Our aim was to determine how critical care (CC) journals and their impact may have evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that the impact, as measured by citations and publications, from the field of CC would increase. DESIGN: Observational study of journal publications, citations, and retractions status. SETTING: All work was done electronically and retrospectively. SUBJECTS: The top 18 CC journals broadly concerning CC, and the top 5 most productive CC journals on the SCImago list. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: For the top 18 CC journals and specifically Critical Care Medicine (CCM), time series analysis was used to estimate the trends of total citations, citations per publication, and publications per year by using the best-fit curve. We used PubMed and Retraction Watch to determine the number of COVID-19 publications and retractions. The average total citations and citations per publication for all journals was an upward quadratic trend with inflection points in 2020, whereas publications per year spiked in 2020 before returning to prepandemic values in 2021. For CCM total publications trend downward while total citations and citations per publication generally trend up from 2017 onward. CCM had the lowest percentage of COVID-related publications (15.7%) during the pandemic and no reported retractions. Two COVID-19 retractions were noted in our top five journals. CONCLUSIONS: Citation activity across top CC journals underwent a dramatic increase during the COVID-19 pandemic without significant retraction data. These trends suggest that the impact of CC has grown significantly since the onset of COVID-19 while maintaining adherence to a high-quality peer-review process.

An investigation into gender distributions in scholarly publications among dental faculty members in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Research on gender inequality is crucial as it unveils the pervasive disparities that persist across various domains, shedding light on societal imbalances and providing a foundation for informed policy-making. AIM: To investigate gender differences in scientometric indices among faculty members in dental schools across Iran. This included overall data and speciality-specific data. METHODS: The publication profiles of academic staff in all dental schools were examined using the Iranian Scientometric Information Database (ISID, http://isid.research.ac.ir). Variables analyzed were working field, academic degree, the total number of papers, papers per year, total number of citations, percentage of self-citation, h-index, g-index, citations per paper, gender, university type, number of years publishing, proportion of international papers, first-author papers, and corresponding-author papers. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric tests were used to analyze the relationship between background characteristics and scientometric indicators. The extracted data were analyzed using R v4.0.1. RESULTS: The database included 1850 faculty members, of which about 60% (1104 of 1850) were women. Men (n = 746) had a higher number of papers (6583 vs. 6255) and citations (60410 vs. 39559) compared with women; 234 of the 376 faculty members with no papers were women. Almost half of the women (N = 517 of 1104) were in Type 2 universities, and nearly half of the men (N = 361 of the 746) were faculty members at Type 1 universities (Type 1 universities ranking higher than Type 2 and 3 universities). The medians of scientometric indices were higher in men, except for self-citation percentage (0 (IQR = 2) vs. 0 (IQR = 3), P = 0.083), international papers percentage (0 (IQR = 7.5) vs. 0 (IQR = 16.7), P<0.001). The proportion of corresponding-author papers was more than 62% higher in women (25 (IQR = 50) vs. 15.4 (IQR = 40), P<0.001). Men had a two-fold higher median h-index (2 (IQR = 4) vs. 1 (IQR = 3), P<0.001). Restorative dentistry and pediatric dentistry had the highest men-to-women ratios (1.5 for both). Dental materials and oral and maxillofacial surgery showed the lowest men-to-women ratios (0.42 and 0.5, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Women made up the majority of dental faculty members in Iran. Nevertheless, men showed better scientometric results in several significant indices. Having identified scientometric information reflecting differences across faculty members, further research is now needed to better understand the drivers of these differences.

K-Means clustering of dermatology journals: comparing the distribution of "free-to-publish" and "pay-to-publish" models.

This study investigates the impact of Free-to-Publish (F2P) versus Pay-to-Publish (P2P) models in dermatology journals, focusing on their differences in terms of journal metrics, Article Processing Charges (APCs), and Open Access (OA) status. Utilizing k-means clustering, the research evaluates dermatology journals based on SCImago Journal Rankings (SJR), H-Index, and Impact Factor (IF), and examines the correlation between these metrics, APCs, and OA status (Full or Hybrid). Data from the SCImago Journal Rank and Journal Citation Report databases were used, and metrics from 106 journals were normalized and grouped into three tiers.The study reveals a higher proportion of F2P journals, especially in higher-tier journals, indicating a preference for quality-driven research acceptance. Conversely, a rising proportion of P2P journals in lower tiers suggests potential bias towards the ability to pay. This disparity poses challenges for researchers from less-funded institutions or those early in their careers. The study also finds significant differences in APCs between F2P and P2P journals, with hybrid OA being more common in F2P.Conclusively, the study highlights the disparities in dermatology journals between F2P and P2P models and underscores the need for further research into authorship demographics and institutional affiliations in these journals. It also establishes the effectiveness of k-means clustering as a standardized method for assessing journal quality, which can reduce reliance on potentially biased individual metrics.

Productive scientists are associated with lower disruption in scientific publishing.

While scientific researchers often aim for high productivity, prioritizing the quantity of publications may come at the cost of time and effort dedicated to individual research. It is thus important to examine the relationship between productivity and disruption for individual researchers. Here, we show that with the increase in the number of published papers, the average citation per paper will be higher yet the mean disruption of papers will be lower. In addition, we find that the disruption of scientists' papers may decrease when they are highly productive in a given year. The disruption of papers in each year is not determined by the total number of papers published in the author's career, but rather by the productivity of that particular year. Besides, more productive authors also tend to give references to recent and high-impact research. Our findings highlight the potential risks of pursuing productivity and aim to encourage more thoughtful career planning among scientists.

A quantitative analysis of publication trends in Iranian medical ethics and a comparison with EMRO countries.

BACKGROUND: Evaluating publication trends in a research area helps assess organised scientific efforts in the particular academic field. This study aims to evaluate and compare trends in medical ethics publications in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) countries. METHODS: A scoping review was conducted to identify publication trends of Iranian and EMRO medical ethicists. Databases were searched, including Web of Sciences, Scopus, and PubMed for English language articles, which were published by countries in the World Health Organization EMRO regions. Iranian articles were searched in Persian and English language databases. The search strategy for the bioethics filter created by the Kennedy Institute of Ethics. Duplicate entries, tertiary publications and grey literature were excluded. All retrieved articles were categorised into ten main groups. Citavi software® was used for categorising and extracting articles' information. RESULTS: A total of 1835 English and Persian articles were obtained. Most (1211, 66%) Iranian publications in medical ethics were in Persian, and the rest (624, 34%) were in English. Most (306, 64.42%) of the published English articles in the EMRO region were authored by Iranian scholars, followed by those from Saudi Arabia (52, 10.95%), Oman (40, 8.42%), Pakistan (28, 5.89%), Lebanon (13, 2.74%), and Egypt (12, 2.53%). CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that the trend of publication of EMRO countries, especially Iranian publications, is insufficient to respond to national demands in medical ethics. A concept map has been presented to determine research needs in medical ethics. Focusing on national and regional research potentials could synergistically affect medical ethics progress in the EMRO region.

Publication of pediatric theses defended at the Tunis Faculty of Medicine: A 15-year study.

INTRODUCTION: The valorisation of thesis through its publication is necessary to enhance its visibility. Few data exist concerning the characteristics of theses defended at the Tunis faculty of medicine. AIM: Examine the publication rate of pediatric theses and identify factors associated with an increased publication rate. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive bibliometric study of pediatric theses defended at the Faculty of Medicine of Tunis over 15 years, from 2006 to 2020. Theses were retrieved from the catalog of the faculty library. Publications had been searched in databases "Pub Med ", and "Google Scholar" until December2021. RESULTS: The study involved 235 pediatric theses. Sixty-eight theses were published, representing 29% of the total. The main topics of published theses were neonatology (16%) and hematology (15%). The language of publication was French and English in 55% and 45% of cases, respectively. All publications in Q1 and Q2 journals were written in English. The only independent factor predicting publication of theses was the very honourable mention with congratulations of the jury and proposal for the thesis prize (p=0,007). CONCLUSION: Additional assessments will be necessary to identify the obstacles to the publication of theses.

Fate of Pediatric Transport Medicine Abstracts 2011 to 2020: What Predicts Publication Success?

OBJECTIVE: Pediatric-neonatal transport research projects are presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Transport Medicine (SOTM) scientific abstract program annually. Journal publication increases the impact of these projects. Our objectives were to determine the publication rate of transport abstracts and to identify factors predictive of publication success. METHODS: We reviewed all AAP SOTM abstracts accepted for presentation from 2011 to 2020 and assessed presentation format (oral/platform vs. poster), authors' professional degree (physician vs. nonphysician), and first author's trainee status. We searched PubMed, Ovid, and ResearchGate for publications by abstract title and authors and then compared published versus unpublished abstracts. Categorical variables were expressed as proportions and compared using the chi-square test or the Fisher exact test, whereas continuous variables were summarized using medians and interquartile ranges (IQRs) and compared using the Student t-test or the Kruskal-Wallis test as appropriate. A linear probability model was performed. RESULTS: Of 194 presented abstracts, 67 (34.5%) were published. The publication rate was significantly higher for oral/platform versus poster abstracts (P < .01), if the abstract was an oral/platform (probability increase by 19.5%, P < .01), and if the first author was a trainee (probability increase by 25.6%, p < 0.05). The constant was estimated as 24.9% probability of publication. Hence, if the first author was a physician, a trainee, and had an oral/platform presentation, there was an 85.8% chance of being published. The median (IQR) time to publication was 2 years (IQR: 2-4 years), with articles published the longest having the most citations. Articles were published in 27 different journals, with nearly half (33/67, 49.3%) being published in 3 journals. CONCLUSION: AAP SOTM abstracts have a 34.5% publication rate over the past 10 years, which is consistent with other medical specialties. Oral abstracts, physician first authors, and trainee first authors had a significantly higher success rate. Special emphasis should be placed nationally on supporting nonphysician transport professionals to publish their work.

Exploring publications in 3 major orthodontic journals: A comparative bibliometric analysis of two 10-year periods (2002-2011 and 2012-2021).

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to perform a bibliometric analysis examining contributing countries and collaborative networks, authors and collaborative relationships, the performance of the institutions, and cocited journals and references in 3 major orthodontic journals (American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, European Journal of Orthodontics, and Angle Orthodontist) over two 10-year periods (2002-2011 and 2012-2021). METHODS: In this study, 4432 publications in the first decade and 4012 publications in the second decade were quantitatively analyzed and visualized using visualization software such as VOSviewer (Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands), CiteSpace (Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa), and Scimago Graphica (SCImago Lab, Spain). RESULTS: Institutions in the United States had the highest number of publications through the 2 decades, whereas Brazil, South Korea, and China achieved significant improvements in performance in the second decade compared with the first. Closer collaborative networks among scholars were revealed in the second decade. The cocitation analysis of the journals showed that highly cited journals included more professional orthodontic journals in the second decade than in the first decade. CONCLUSIONS: Bibliometric analysis of publications in 3 major orthodontic journals over two 10-year periods revealed a trend of diversification in countries and institutions participating in publishing, international collaborations, and collaboration networks among authors in the field of orthodontics during the 2 decades.

Drivers of citations in social pharmacy and practice research articles.

BACKGROUND: Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy has been expanding in the last decade. The recently published Granada Statements offer key recommendations to improve the quality of research in this field. OBJECTIVES: To identify the factors associated with the citations of articles in the field of social, administrative, clinical pharmacy and practice research. METHODS: This study was a retrospective, observational analysis of articles published in three leading journals. Per article Google Scholar citations was the dependent variable. Predictor variables were extracted from all articles published from 2013 to 2015. The dependent variable was dichotomized using sample's median Google Scholar citations. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of citations ≥ median. RESULTS: The median number of citations per article was 17 (range 0-341), with a mean of 24.2 (SD 27.6). The number of references included in the articles (OR 1.03, CI 1.02-1.04), the year of publication (OR 0.31 CI 0.21-0.46 for articles published 2015), article social media mentions (OR = 1.01, CI 1.01-1.03 and OR 1.10 CI 1.04-1.18 for Facebook and X, respectively), the topic area of research namely pharmacy services (OR 1.65, CI 1.06-2.57) and medication adherence (OR 2.22 CI 1.13-4.33) were independently associated with article having citations ≥ median. CONCLUSIONS: The number of references, the year of publication, social media mentions and the topic area of research, namely pharmacy services and medication adherence, were associated with citations above median in the leading journals of social and administrative pharmacy research. Authors may consider providing a thorough literature review in their articles, while researchers, editors, and publishers are advised to use social media to promote newly published work. This article complements the Granada Statements and may contribute to fostering wider dissemination of the discipline's outputs.

Impact of Open Access status on journal metrics in infectious diseases and clinical microbiology - A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: While Open Access (OA) journals provide free access to articles, they entail high article processing charges (APC), limiting opportunities for young researchers and those from low-middle income countries to publish OA. METHODS: Cross-sectional study, evaluating APC and academic impact of full OA (FOA) journals in infectious diseases (ID) and clinical microbiology (CM) compared to hybrid journals. Data were collected from Journal Citation Reports and journals' websites. RESULTS: Among 255 journals, median APC was 2850 (interquartile range [IQR] 1325-3654$). Median APC for 120 FOA journals was significantly lower than for 119 hybrid journals (2000, IQR 648-2767$ versus 3550, IQR 2948-4120$, p < 0.001). FOA journals had lower citation numbers and impact metrics compared to hybrid journals. CONCLUSION: While FOA ID/CM journals have lower APCs, they also lower academic impact compared to hybrid journals. These findings highlight the need for reforms in the publication process in view of achieving equitable data dissemination.

Mapping the landscape of medical research in the Arab world countries: A comprehensive bibliometric analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the productivity, performance, and impact of medical research in the Arab world countries. METHODS: We carried out a bibliometric analysis using Clarivate Analytics databases from January 2017 to March 2023. We reported research productivity, national and international research collaboration patterns, impact of Arab medical research output compared to the global average, top medical journals publishing Arab-affiliated research, and performance of the most productive Arab institutions. RESULTS: The Arab world contributed 2.72% to global medical research publication, with a citation impact of 11.98 compared to the global impact of 12.02. Qatar, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia led medical research publications per million population among Arab countries, ranking 26th, 36th, and 37th globally. Medical research publications increased by 87% annually from 2017-2022, with 70% of research originating from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. National collaborations accounted for 15% of Arab world publications, while international collaborations represented 66%. The median impact factor across the top 20 medical journals with Arab-affiliated authors was 5.14, with 50% being quartile one journals. The top 10 Arab-origin medical journals had a median impact factor of 3.13. Approximately 80% of the top 20 Arab institutions were academic, with a median publication count of 3,162.5 and a median citation impact of 14.5. CONCLUSION: The study provides insights into the state of medical research in the Arab countries, indicating room for improvement in the region's medical research.