Characteristics and Trends of Orthopedic Publications between 2000 and 2009

Abstract

BackgroundThis study was undertaken to investigate the trends of orthopedic publications during the last decade, and to document the country of origin, journal, funding source, and language of contribution using PubMed.MethodsOrthopedic articles published between 2000 and 2009 were retrieved from PubMed using the following search terms: "orthopaedic[Affiliation] AND ("2000/1/1"[PDAT]: "2009/12/31"[PDAT])" and "orthopedic[Affiliation] AND ("2000/1/1"[PDAT]: "2009/12/31"[PDAT])." The articles were downloaded in XML file format, which contained the following information: article title, author names, journal names, publication dates, article types, languages, authors' affiliations and funding sources. These information was extracted, sorted, and rearranged using the database's management software. We investigated the annual number of published orthopedic articles worldwide and the annual rate of increase. Furthermore, the country of publication origin, journal, funding source, and language of contribution were also investigated.ResultsA total of 46,322 orthopedic articles were published and registered in PubMed in the last 10 years. The worldwide number of published orthopedic articles increased from 2,889 in 2000 to 6,909 in 2009, showing an annual increase of 384.6 articles, or an annualized compound rate of 10.2%. The United States ranked highest in the number of published orthopedic articles, followed by Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Republic of Korea. Among the orthopedic articles published worldwide during the last 10 years, 37.9% pertained studies performed in the United States. Fifty-seven point three percent (57.3%) of articles were published in journals established in the United States. Among the published orthopaedic articles, 4,747 articles (10.2%) disclosed financial support by research funds, of which 4,688 (98.8%) articles utilized research funds from the United States. Most articles were published in English (97.2%, 45,030 articles).ConclusionsThe number of published orthopedic articles has been increasing over the last decade. The number of orthopedic articles, journals publication, and funding sources were dominated by research conducted in the United States, while share and growth of Asian countries including Japan, the Republic of Korea, and China were notable.

Editorial: Increased Manuscript Submissions Prompt Journals to Make Hard Choices

“…The curve reflects a compound annual growth rate of approximately 3.5% [5]. The curve in orthopaedics is likely to be even steeper, with one analysis estimating that the compound annual growth rate for orthopaedic research is in excess of 10% [8]. not sending that paper out for further review, when it had little or no chance of emerging from the process with a recommendation to publish, they saved me time.…”

“…1). In orthopaedics, the compound annual growth rate was even steeper, at 10.2% [8]. At Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research 1 , as a leading journal of the specialty, the numbers are even more dramatic: From 2012 to 2013 alone, manuscript submissions increased a whopping 29%.…”

Orthopaedic research activity in South Africa measured by publication rates in the 15 highest impact journals related to population size and gross domestic product

“…12,13 However, the total number of publications may not account for economic discrepancies and population size. 11 In addition, the availability of funding would certainly result in higher publication output by countries with a larger population size and more powerful economies in particular when considering the economic realities of low income and developing countries. 11,14 To adjust for these inconsistencies the use of gross domestic product (GDP) and gross domestic product per capita may result in more meaningful results and allow for comparisons between countries.…”

“…11 In addition, the availability of funding would certainly result in higher publication output by countries with a larger population size and more powerful economies in particular when considering the economic realities of low income and developing countries. 11,14 To adjust for these inconsistencies the use of gross domestic product (GDP) and gross domestic product per capita may result in more meaningful results and allow for comparisons between countries. 15 The purpose of this study was threefold: 1) to investigate the number of publications and impact of South African surgeons in the 15 highest impact orthopaedic journals over a five-year period and relate these variables to population size, GDP and GDP per capita; 2) to establish the number of publications required for South Africa to be equal with the country having the overall highest research output, to establish the number of publications required for South Africa to be comparable to the average; 3) and to compare South Africa's research output to other African countries.…”

“…8 Bibliometric analysis is commonly used as a proxy for research output and several authors have previously performed bibliometric analysis of orthopaedic publications. [9][10][11] Only Ireland and Turkey have specifically investigated their country's individual contribution to orthopaedic literature with a focus on the institution, individual authors and distribution of publications among journals. 12,13 However, the total number of publications may not account for economic discrepancies and population size.…”