Citation classics: Top 50 cited articles in 'respiratory system'.

Identifying citation classics in the field is one of the key methodologies used to conduct a systematic evaluation of research performance. The objective of this study was to determine the most frequently cited articles published in journals that are placed under the 'respiratory system' subject category (Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Journal Citation Reports) and to compare them with the most frequently cited respiratory-related articles published in any journal, regardless of subject category. The authors utilized the ISI Journal Citation Reports: Science Edition 2010 database in April 2012 to determine the most frequently cited articles by respiratory system subject category and by respiratory-related keywords. The top 50 most-cited articles were identified in each category and evaluated according to various characteristics. The majority of these papers originated from the United States. The median numbers of citations for the top 50 cited articles stratified by respiratory system subject category and respiratory-related keywords were 841.5 and 2701, respectively. Half of the top 50 cited articles identified by respiratory-related keywords were published in general medical or basic science journals, whereas only three out of these were published in journals under the respiratory system subject category in ISI Journal Citation Reports. In summary, respiratory-related articles published in general medical or science journals attracted more citations than those published in the specific respiratory journals.

Citation classics in nursing journals: the top 50 most frequently cited articles from 1956 to 2011.

BACKGROUND: Assessing the impact of individual journal articles provides information for understanding trends in science and translation of findings on practice. Citation analysis is an important way to highlight the contributions of individual author/investigator and journals on nursing practice. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify the most frequently cited articles published in nursing journals from 1956 to 2011. METHODS: The Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index were searched for citations through 2011 to articles published in the 89 nursing journals listed on the Journal Citation Reports (2010 edition). The number of citations, topic, countries, and institutions of origin based on the first author affiliation, year of publication, study design, publishing journal, journal country, and journal impact factor were noted. The most frequently cited articles published in the 89 nursing journals from 1956 to 2011 were identified. RESULTS: The top 50 most frequently cited articles were published in 10 nursing journals between 1970 and 2005. The top cited article received 784 citations. The most common topics were methodology for qualitative studies, validation procedures for tool development, and nursing care and practices in cancer and mental health. The most common study designs were reviews including meta-analysis and instrument validation. Most of the top 50 cited articles were published from 1986 to 1995. DISCUSSION: The findings provide insights into priorities and trends in nursing research and translational science.