Dental research in Spain. A bibliometric analysis on subjects, authors and institutions (1993-2012).

BACKGROUND: Bibliometrics is defined as the use of statistical methods in the analysis of a body of literature to reveal the historical development of subject fields and patterns of authorship, publication, and use. Our objective was to characterize Spanish scientific output in Dentistry through the analysis of Web of Science database in a 20-year period. By means of a bibliometric study documents were statistically analyzed using indicators that showed quantitative and qualitative aspects of the production. Specifically, time course of the scientific production within the time span was analysed, as were the journals where the article was published and the categories of Journal Citation Reports (JCR) in which they belong, thematic areas, authorship, and finally authors and institutions with the highest production in Spain. MATERIAL AND METHODS: By means of the design of a specific search strategy previously described in the scientific literature, we recovered all citable documents about Dentistry signed by Spanish researchers and included in the WoS database between 1993 and 2012. RESULTS: A total of 3006 documents fulfilled the search criteria, of which 2449 (81.5%) were published in journals within the category Dentistry Oral Surgery and Medicine and 557 (18.5%) within other categories of the JCR. During the four quinquenniums studied, the production increased quantitatively (8.6-fold) and qualitatively. Finally, the universities of Granada and Complutense of Madrid were the institutions with the highest production and most prolific authors. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish dental production sharply increased in the last two decades, reaching quantitative and qualitative levels similar to those of the other medical specialties in the country.

Trends in World Dental Research: an overview of the last three decades using the Web of Science.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to analyse the scientific activity of dental sciences over the last 30 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dental-research output was identified by retrieving all citable dental documents in the Web of Science (WoS) database in the periods 1986-1988, 1996-1998, and 2006-2008. For this, a two-phase search strategy was designed: firstly, output in Dentistry, Oral Surgery, and Medicine (DOSM) Journal Citation Reports (JCR) category journals were compiled; secondly, for journal documents of other JCR categories but related to Dentistry (Non-DOSM), an innovative search strategy was designed based on a double criterion, thematic and institutional. RESULTS: The results showed that DOSM production increased in absolute but decreased in relative terms over the last 30 years. The JCR categories where dental researchers publish also varied. Surprisingly, the geographic distribution of the production shows a growing concentration of the steadily fewer countries, a previously undescribed phenomenon, while the thematic analysis reveals that this production continued to form four broad thematic areas encompassing the remaining specialties: Dental Materials Prosthodontics, Orthodontics, and General Dentistry. CONCLUSIONS: Scientific production in dentistry has changed in the past three decades both quantitatively and qualitatively, as well as their geographical distribution despite being structured around the same specialties. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In this study, along with some key messages about the key shifts in publication trends, in terms of subject, where published and by whom, we propose a new methodology which could be useful to professionals as well as researchers, in which the exhaustivity and precision rates for scientific information retrieval improve.

[The Institute for Scientific Information journal selection criteria. Its application to Archivos de la Sociedad Española de Oftalmología]. / Evaluación de Archivos de la Sociedad Española de Oftalmología según criterios del "Institute for Scientific Information" para la selección de revistas científicas.

OBJECTIVE: Application of Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Journal Selection Criteria (JSC) to Archives of the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology. METHODOLOGY: Information about the journal, as well as instructions for authors, were sampled through 24 issues (2003-2004). ISI criteria were converted into quantitative indicators and applied to the journal in question and by extension to other Spanish medical journals. RESULTS: Compliance with international standards: Article titles (means of 7.3 keywords, 2 descriptors, 1.4 MeSH headings), author affiliation (included in 100% of cases, 21% error rate), bibliographic references (12% error rate in abbreviated journal titles), titles in English (8% translation error rate), abstracts (196 words average, 100% structured), keywords (4 words average, 1.2 coincidence with MeSH). External peer-review system is mentioned but no annual information is given on results. There was a 228-day delay on average between reception and acceptance and a 35-day delay between acceptance and publication. The journal covers 87% of ophthalmology research articles published in Spain. International scope: 57% of editorial board members publish in international journals of impact. National scope, but low presence (11%) of foreign authors. Citations to relevant international literature accredited by ISI journals are included. The journal appears in leading biomedical databases. Citations: 133 international citations between 1998 and 2005. Its impact factor potential (0.165) is superior to the last journals listed in the JCR under the heading of <>. Editorial board citations: 261 for the 2000-2004 period. CONCLUSIONS: Archives is an excellent means of communicating research results. It is the dominant dissemination channel for published and visible ophthalmology in Spain. Its international projection is good and the impact of its contents shows promising results.

Evaluación de Archivos de la Sociedad Española de Oftalmología según criterios del «Institute for Scientific Information» para la selección de revistas científicas / The «Institute for Scientific Information» journal selection criteria. Its application to Archivos de la Sociedad Española de Oftalmología

Objetivo: Aplicación de los criterios para la selecciónde revistas científicas del Institute for ScientificInformation (ISI) a Archivos de la SociedadEspañola de OftalmologíaMétodos: Muestra de 24 números (2003-2004), lainformación sobre la revista y sus instrucciones aautores. Se transforman los criterios del ISI en indicadorescuantitativos para su aplicación a la revistaestudiada y por extensión aplicable también a lasrevistas médicas españolasResultados: Cumplimiento estándares internacionales:Títulos artículos (media de 7,3 palabras claves,2 descriptores, 1,4 términos MeSH), filiaciónautores (se incluye en el 100% de los casos, tasa deerror del 21%), referencias bibliográficas (tasa deerror del 12% en títulos abreviados de revistas),títulos en inglés (tasa de error del 8% en traducción),abstract (media de 196 palabras, 100%estructurados), palabras claves (media de 4 palabras,1,2 coincidentes con MeSH). Se declara sistemade revisión externo por pares, pero no se dainformación anual sobre los resultados. Demora descontenentrerecepción-aceptación de artículos de 228 díasy entre aceptación-publicación de 35. Cobertura del87% de la oftalmología publicada en España. Internacionalidad:Equipo editorial publica el 57% desus trabajos en revistas internacionales de impacto.Cobertura nacional y escasa presencia de autoresextranjeros (11%). Cita la literatura internacionalrelevante y homologada con revistas ISI. Recogidaen las principales bases de datos biomédicas. Citación:133 citas internacionales entre 1998-2005. SuFI potencial (0,165) es superior al de las últimasrevistas de la categoría «Ophthalmology» del JCR.Citas equipo editorial: 261 para el período 2000-2004.Conclusiones: Archivos es un buen medio decomunicación de resultados de investigación. Es elcanal de difusión privilegiado de la oftalmologíapublicada y visible en España. Su proyección internacionales buena y la repercusión de los contenidosque publica muestra unos resultados optimistas

Objective: Application of Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Journal Selection Criteria (JSC) to Archives of the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology. Methodology: Information about the journal, as well as instructions for authors, were sampled through 24 issues (2003-2004). ISI criteria were converted into quantitative indicators and applied to the journal in question and by extension to other Spanish medical journals. Results: Compliance with international standards: Article titles (means of 7.3 keywords, 2 descriptors, 1.4 MeSH headings), author affiliation (included in 100% of cases, 21% error rate), bibliographic references (12% error rate in abbreviated journal titles), titles in English (8% translation error rate), abstracts (196 words average, 100% structured), keywords (4 words average, 1.2 coincidence with MeSH). External peer-review system is mentioned but no annual information is given on results. There was a 228-day delay on average between reception and acceptance and a 35-day delay between acceptance and publication. The journal covers 87% of ophthalmology research articles published in Spain. International scope: 57% of editorial board members publish in international journals of impact. National scope, but low presence (11%) of foreign authors. Citations to relevant international literature accredited by ISI journals are included. The journal appears in leading biomedical databases. Citations: 133 international citations between 1998 and 2005. Its impact factor potential (0.165) is superior to the last journals listed in the JCR under the heading of «Ophthalmology». Editorial board citations: 261 for the 2000-2004 period. Conclusions: Archives is an excellent means of communicating research results. It is the dominant dissemination channel for published and visible ophthalmology in Spain. Its international projection is good and the impact of its contents shows promising results

Spanish personal name variations in national and international biomedical databases: implications for information retrieval and bibliometric studies.

OBJECTIVES: The study sought to investigate how Spanish names are handled by national and international databases and to identify mistakes that can undermine the usefulness of these databases for locating and retrieving works by Spanish authors. METHODS: The authors sampled 172 articles published by authors from the University of Granada Medical School between 1987 and 1996 and analyzed the variations in how each of their names was indexed in Science Citation Index (SCI), MEDLINE, and Indice Medico Español (IME). The number and types of variants that appeared for each author's name were recorded and compared across databases to identify inconsistencies in indexing practices. We analyzed the relationship between variability (number of variants of an author's name) and productivity (number of items the name was associated with as an author), the consequences for retrieval of information, and the most frequent indexing structures used for Spanish names. RESULTS: The proportion of authors who appeared under more then one name was 48.1% in SCI, 50.7% in MEDLINE, and 69.0% in IME. Productivity correlated directly with variability: more than 50% of the authors listed on five to ten items appeared under more than one name in any given database, and close to 100% of the authors listed on more than ten items appeared under two or more variants. Productivity correlated inversely with retrievability: as the number of variants for a name increased, the number of items retrieved under each variant decreased. For the most highly productive authors, the number of items retrieved under each variant tended toward one. The most frequent indexing methods varied between databases. In MEDLINE and IME, names were indexed correctly as "first surname second surname, first name initial middle name initial" (if present) in 41.7% and 49.5% of the records, respectively. However, in SCI, the most frequent method was "first surname, first name initial second name initial" (48.0% of the records) and first surname and second surname run together, first name initial (18.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Retrievability on the basis of author's name was poor in all three databases. Each database uses accurate indexing methods, but these methods fail to result in consistency or coherence for specific entries. The likely causes of inconsistency are: (1) use by authors of variants of their names during their publication careers, (2) lack of authority control in all three databases, (3) the use of an inappropriate indexing method for Spanish names in SCI, (4) authors' inconsistent behaviors, and (5) possible editorial interventions by some journals. We offer some suggestions as to how to avert the proliferation of author name variants in the databases.

Editorial quality, diffusion and bibliometric indicators of the Revista Espaãnola de Enfermedades Digestivas.

AIM: To evaluate the editorial quality, diffusion, relevance of the scientific content, and the publication practices of the specialised journal Revista Española de Enfermedades Digestivas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We checked 136 parameters based on ISO standards, the recommendations of scientific and editorial organisations, and studies of scientific editing and international publishing practices for biomedical journals. Diffusion was calculated using national and international databases, specialised libraries in Spain, and Internet sources. The analysis of the scientific content and publication practices was based on bibliometric indicators for the journal, authorship, and contributions. The sample for this study comprised six alternate issues of volume number 88 (1996), the last issue of this volume, and the first issue of volume 89 (1997). The samples used for the bibliometric analysis varied depending on the characteristics of specific indicators and the availability of information. RESULTS: The overall mean value for compliance with standards was 46.1%, while the real mean was calculated at 72.21%. The editorial procedures at the journal are similar to those of analogous international journals. The Revista Española de Enfermedades Digestivas is included in international databases of biomedical journals, and in the interdisciplinary international database SCI. It was found to be present in 70% of the medical libraries of Spanish universities, and in 73% of the hospital libraries studied. Bibliometric indicators showed co-authorship to be 5.5%; the origin of the authors grouped by province and by type of institutional affiliations showed 27.8% of all authors to be from Madrid, and that more were affiliated with general hospitals than with university hospitals. The mean delay between initial receipt of a manuscript and its publication was 300 days. Cocitation analysis gave the journal a central position amongst the 38 Spanish biomedical journals considered representative of the field. The journal's impact factor for 1996 was 0.260. CONCLUSIONS: The Revista Española de Enfermedades Digestivas is a high-quality vehicle of research results, and has acceptable internal editorial procedures. The journal is widely distributed, though its visibility on the Internet should be improved. Co-authorship is similar to that seen in other medical journals. Steps should be taken to make this journal better known within Spain, and to reduce the delay between the initial receipt and the final publication of manuscripts. Its impact factor is increasing steadily.

[Anales de Medicina Interna: standardization, dissemination and bibliometric indicators. (I) Standards evaluation]. / Anales de Medicina Interna: Normalización, difusión e indicadores bibliométricos. (I) Evaluación normativa.

The evaluation of scientific journal has become a necessary exercise for a variety of purposes and parties. We evaluated compliance with ISO standards for periodicals by the Spanish biomedical journal An. Med. Interna. Compliance with 136 data items based on different standards was evaluated with the help of a specially developed data sheet, and expressed as overall mean compliance (49.2%) and actual mean compliance (83.4%), i.e., compliance with those items considered necessary for the effective transfer of information via data bases. Items for which standardization was not optimal were examined in detail and specific recommendations for correction were given. We conclude that An. Med. Interna effectively fulfills its mission as an instrument for the communication of research results. In comparison with Spanish journals covering different areas and published by different organizations, compliance with international standards was better in An. Med. Interna.

[Anales de Medicina Interna: standardization, dissemination and bibliometric indicators. (II) Bibliometric analysis]. / Anales de Medicina Interna: Normalización, difusión e indicadores bibliométricos. (II) Análisis bibliométrico.

National and international diffusion, composition of the collective of authors who publish in the journal, and cocitation were studies for the journal An. Med. Interna. Diffusion was analyzed by examining the presence of the journal in medical data bases and specialized libraries in Spain. The institutional affiliations and geographical location of authors were determined on the basis of the affiliations given in the article by-lines. The journal is included in the major medical data bases and in approximately 80% of the libraries studied. The predominant professional affiliation among authors was clinical (hospital); the geographical origin of the authors (expressed as a percentage of all authors) approximately paralleled the volume of scientific publications generated by each of Spain's 17 autonomous regions. The cocitation study showed that An. Med. Interna ranked somewhere in the middle of the group' of 38 Spanish medical journals considered representative of research being done in Spain.