Using the H-index as a factor in the promotion of surgical faculty

Female Representation Among Head and Neck Surgical Oncology Publications

BACKGROUND

There is lower female representation within academic medicine. We aimed to investigate female authorship (FA) and female-held chair or program director (PD) positions within head and neck oncology (HNO).

METHODS

Articles authored by females about microvascular and reconstructive surgery (MRS) and transoral robotic surgery (TORS) were identified. A sub-analysis was performed by investigating the gender of HNO fellows, PDs, and chairpersons. These were collected, and FA reported.

RESULTS

There were 1227 publications, 656 on MRS and 567 on TORS. Females authored 299 (24%) publications, 139 (23%) about MRS and 160 (30%) about TORS. There was no significant increase in FA or fellowship trends over time (p > 0.05). In our sub-analysis, we identified four HNO chairwomen (3%), and eight (6%) female HNO PDs. HNO chairwomen authored an average of 97 publications, PDs authored 37.

CONCLUSION

FA in MRS and TORS remained stable between 2001 and 2022. Although few HNO females hold program chair or PD positions they perform quality research and serve as senior authors on a large proportion of publications.

H-Index or Hype Index? Are High H-Index Surgeons the Real Influencers on Social Media?

Social media platforms, particularly TikTok and Instagram Reels, have transformed professional visibility in medicine. Facial plastic surgeons (FPS) leverage these platforms for public education and patient outreach. However, the relationship between social media popularity and scholarly impact remains unclear.This study examines whether an otolaryngologist's social media presence correlates with their H-index, a measure of academic credibility. We hypothesize that higher H-index scores predict greater social media engagement on Instagram and TikTok.Cross-sectional study.We extracted HypeAuditor data for TikTok and Instagram engagement metrics among users with otolaryngology content with ≥25,000 followers. H-index was retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Correlation analyses were performed.Instagram H-index correlated positively with follower count and quality audience, while TikTok showed no significant association.Academic credibility influences Instagram engagement but not TikTok, highlighting platform-specific differences in professional influence.

An Analysis of Social Media Engagement and Conventional Bibliometrics for Articles Related to Distal Radius Fractures

PURPOSE

As methods of research publication and promotion evolve, conventional bibliometric analyses may not provide a complete representation of audience engagement with peer-reviewed literature. Our purpose was to assess for correlations between social media engagement (Altmetric attention score [AAS]) and conventional article metrics (citation density [CD] and journal impact factor).

METHODS

Distal radius fracture (DRF) articles with the highest number of citations were identified using Web of Science and imported into Altmetric. The Altmetric database quantifies an article's online engagement and social media footprint to determine the AAS. We evaluated four metrics pertaining to the top 100 DRF articles: AAS, social media mentions (SMM), journal impact factor, and CD. Spearman's ρ was calculated between four pairings of these metrics. Confidence intervals corresponding to each Spearman's ρ were obtained via bootstrapping over 10,000 replications.

RESULTS

Of the 1,000 most frequently cited DRF articles, 333 (33%) generated an AAS. The AAS of the top 100 articles according to AAS ranged from 6 to 317 with a mean of 16. Articles were predominantly original research (71%), followed by reviews (21%). A moderately positive correlation (ρ = 0.55) between AAS and SMM was found. Citation density versus SMM and CD versus AAS were both found to be weakly positively correlated with a ρ of 0.34 and 0.30, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

For the 1,000 most frequently cited articles related to DRFs, 33% generated an AAS. Citation density demonstrated weak, positive correlations with both SMM and AAS. In addition, we found a moderately positive correlation between AAS and SMM.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

These data suggest that online and social media engagement is weakly correlated with increased citations for peer-reviewed articles related to DRFs. Although AAS cannot determine article quality or scientific merit, online dissemination of peer-reviewed research may be an effective means of promoting academic publications and increasing citations.

Social network analysis as a new tool to measure academic impact of physicians

Introduction

H-index is a widely used metric quantifying a researcher's productivity and impact based on an author's publications and citations. Though convenient to calculate, h-index fails to incorporate collaborations and interrelationships between physicians into its assessment of academic impact, leading to limited insight into grouped networks. We present social network analysis as a tool to measure relationships between physicians and quantify their academic impact.

Methods

A bibliometric multicenter analysis was conducted on physician faculty from 129 US ACGME accredited otolaryngology programs who have publications with a physician co-author in the field. Using web searches, 2494 physician faculty were identified. Scopus IDs, h-indices, and publication data for these physicians were identified using multiple Elsevier APIs queried in December 2023. Publications with multiple otolaryngology physician co-authors were included. Network and sub network maps were generated using Gephi and analyzed with custom R scripts. Centrality measures (degree, PageRank, betweenness centralities) quantified collaboration propensity. Non-parametric correlation analysis between centrality measures and h-index was conducted. Sankey diagrams were plotted using ggplot2.

Results

A co-authorship network of 2259 physicians was constructed. Physicians were visualized as nodes with collaborations as links. Centrality measures correlated strongly with h-index (h-index vs. degree centrality: r 2 = 0.62, h-index vs. PageRank: r 2 = 0.55, h-index vs. betweenness centrality: r 2 = 0.55; p < .0001). Analysis revealed novel insights into physician network structure, identifying 14 communities primarily populated by single subspecialties with varied node density.

Conclusion

Social network analysis showed moderate correlation between social connectedness measures and h-index, supporting its use in measuring academic impact. In otolaryngology, collaborative interactions within the academic community are strongly shaped by sub-specialty affiliation and academic institution.

The pediatric surgeon-scientist: An evolving breed or endangered phenotype?

INTRODUCTION

National Institute of Health (NIH) funding is a "gold-standard" of achievement; we examined trends in NIH-funded pediatric surgeons.

METHODS

NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT) was queried for American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) members (2012 vs 2022). Demographics and time-to-award (TTA) from fellowship were compared. Number of grants, funding allotment, award classification, administering institutes/centers, research type were studied.

RESULTS

Thirty-eight (4.6%) APSA members were NIH-funded in 2012 compared to 37 (2.9%) in 2022. Of funded surgeons in 2022, 27% were repeat awardees from 2012. TTA was similar (12 vs 14years, p=0.109). At each point, awards were commonly R01 grants (40 vs 52%, p ​= ​0.087) and basic science-related (76 vs 63%, p = ​0.179). Awardees were predominantly men (82% in 2012 vs 78% in 2022, p=0.779) and White (82% in 2012 vs 76% in 2022, p=0.586). Median amount per grant increased: $254,980 (2012) to $364,025 (2022); by $96,711 for men and $390,911 for women. Median awards for White surgeons increased by $215,699 (p=0.035), and decreased by $30,074 for non-White surgeons, though not significantly (p=0.368).

CONCLUSION

The landscape of NIH-funded pediatric surgeons has remained unchanged between time points. With a substantial number of repeat awardees, predominance of R01 grants, and a median TTA over a decade after fellowship graduation, the phenotypes of early career pediatric surgeon-scientists are facing academic endangerment.

Global research trends in acupuncture treatment for post-stroke depression: A bibliometric analysis

OBJECTIVE

Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a prevalent and severe sequela of stroke. It is an emotional disorder that significantly impacts functional recovery, prognosis, secondary stroke risk, and mortality among stroke survivors. The incidence rate of PSD is 18 %∼33 %, with symptoms such as low mood, decreased interest, sleep disorders, decreased appetite, impaired attention, and in severe cases, hallucinations and even suicidal tendencies. While diverse therapeutic modalities are employed globally to address PSD, each approach carries its inherent advantages and limitations. Notably, acupuncture stands out as a promising and effective intervention for ameliorating PSD symptoms and enhancing stroke prognosis. This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis to scrutinize the current landscape, identify hotspots, and explore frontiers in acupuncture research for PSD.

METHODS

A systematic search for acupuncture and PSD-related research was conducted from January 2014 to October 2023 on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). The data were downloaded and processed using Bibliometrix and VOSviewer to generate knowledge visualization maps.

RESULTS

A total of 11,540 articles related to acupuncture and PSD were retrieved. China emerged as the leading contributor with the highest volume of articles on acupuncture and PSD. Author Liu CZ attained the highest H-index, focusing primarily on investigating the compatibility effects and mechanisms of acupoints. Common hotspot keywords included pain, stimulation, mechanisms, complementary, and alternative medicine. The main research frontiers were mechanisms, neuroinflammation, gut microbiota, and therapeutic methods.

CONCLUSION

This study offered multifaceted insights into acupuncture for PSD, unveiling pivotal areas, research hotspots, and emerging trends. The findings aimed to guide researchers in exploring novel research directions and selecting appropriate journals for advancing the understanding and treatment of PSD through acupuncture interventions.

Using Bibliometric Analysis to Map the Impact of a Simulation Program's Published Scholarly Works

SUMMARY STATEMENT

Bibliometrics quantitatively evaluates the targeted literature sources and can help define research and scholarly publications' impact and demonstrate connections for authors, departments, or universities. This article presents a methodology for simulation programs to evaluate their influence in terms of both impact and scope of their published simulation-based healthcare scholarly output. Using the authors' home university and healthcare system as an example, the article outlines a methodology to map research and scholarly works networks within the systems, identify and map connections outside the system, and quantifiably score the overall impact of the simulation program's scholarly output using a common scoring metric, the h-index. This generates an objective measure of impact, rather than a subjective opinion of an organization's research and scholarly impact. The combination of an institutional h-index with mapping of simulation-based healthcare scholarly output provides a full, objective description of the institution's output and provides a benchmark for other simulation programs for comparison.

Defining quantitative rules for identifying influential researchers: Insights from mathematics domain

In the midst of a vast amount of scientific literature, the need for specific rules arise especially when it comes to deciding which impactful researchers should be nominated. These rules are based on measurable quantities that can easily be applied to a researcher's quantitative data. Various search engines, like Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar, Web of Science etc. Are used for recording metadata such as the researcher's total publications, their citations, h-index etc. However, the scientific community has not yet agreed upon a single set of criteria that a researcher has to meet in order to secure a spot on to the list of impactful researchers. In this study, we have provided a comprehensive set of rules for the scientific community within the field of mathematics, derived from the top five quantitative parameters belonging to each category. Within each categorical grouping, we meticulously selected the five most pivotal parameters. This selection process was guided by an importance score, that was derived after assessing its influence on the model's performance in the classification of data pertaining to both awardees and non awardees. To perform the experiment, we focused on the field of mathematics and used a dataset containing 525 individuals who received awards and 525 individuals who did not receive awards. The rules were developed for each parameter category using the Decision Tree Algorithm, which achieved an average accuracy of 70 to 75 percent for identifying awardees in mathematics domains. Moreover, the highest-ranked parameters belonging to each category were successful in elevating over 50 to 55 percent of the award recipients to positions within the top 100 ranked researchers' list. These findings have the potential to serve as a guidance for individual researchers, who aimed on to making it to the esteemed list of distinguished scientists. Additionally, the scientific community can utilize these rules to sift through the roster of researchers for a subjective evaluation, facilitating the recognition and rewarding of exceptional researchers in the field.

Bibliometric Indices As Indicators of Research Output: Analyzing Anesthesiologists as a Paradigm for Surgical Disciplines

Anesthesiology is one of the increasingly competitive surgical specialties with a growing emphasis on scholarly activity. A metric of productivity and citation influence, the Hirsch index (h-index), can help identify mentors capable of guiding postgraduate trainees toward successful academic achievements. This study sought to determine associations between h-indices or m-quotients and manuscript publication in anesthesiology. Using the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) website, accepted abstracts from the ASA Annual Meetings from 2019 to 2021 were screened (n=2146). The first author (FAHi) and senior author (SAHi) h-indices, as well as the first author (FAMq) and senior author (SAMq) m-quotients, were collected for each abstract using the Scopus database. Whether an accepted abstract was subsequently published as a manuscript in a peer-reviewed journal was also noted, along with the number of days between ASA presentation and publication date. Linear and logistic regression models were used for statistical analyses. In total, 348 (34.4%) of the 1012 eligible abstracts were published as manuscripts. Mean FAHi, SAHi, FAMq, and SAMq, were significantly higher for accepted ASA abstracts that were later published in peer-reviewed journals compared to accepted abstracts that were not published (p<0.001). FAHi, SAHi, FAMq, and SAMq had significant positive associations with odds of publication (p=0.002; p<0.001; p=0.006; p<0.001, respectively). There was no statistical significance between FAHi, SAHi, FAMq, or SAMq and the number of days between ASA presentation and publication. Our study uniquely demonstrates the positive, direct association between h-indices and m-quotients with the probability of publication in anesthesiology. We propose that bibliometric indices are adapted to provide a refined perspective of a physician-scientist's capabilities. Postgraduate trainees can use these indices to discern research mentors primed to foster academic excellence.

Retainment of U.S. Orthopaedic Surgeons in Academia from 2016 to 2022

Background

Academic medical centers greatly benefit from retaining their physicians; that ensures continuity in patient care, enhances resident education, and maintains a pool of experienced clinicians and researchers. Despite its importance, little research has been published on the retainment of academic faculty in orthopaedics. To address this gap, this study investigates the demographic trends of academic orthopaedic surgeons from 2016 to 2022. By analyzing data pertaining to gender distribution, years of practice, research productivity, and institutional rankings, we aimed to gain insights into the factors influencing faculty retainment, institution changes, and new entrants into academic orthopaedics.

Methods

A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of U.S. academic orthopaedic surgeons affiliated with programs under the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in 2016 and 2022 was performed. Faculty present in both the 2016 and the 2022 data were classified as being "retained" in academia; those present only in 2016, as having "left" academia; and those present only in 2022, as being "new" to academia. The retained group was then divided into movers (those who moved to other institutions) and non-movers.

Results

Retained orthopaedists had fewer years of practice, a higher h-index (Hirsch index), and more publications. Non-fellowship-trained orthopaedists had less retainment in academia, and orthopaedists with fellowships in oncology had more retainment in academia. Additionally, movers also had fewer years in practice but an equal level of scholarly productivity when compared with non-movers. Lastly, higher-ranked academic programs retained a greater proportion of orthopaedic surgeons.

Conclusions

Over the study period, a majority of orthopaedists (56.99%) chose to remain in academia. Those retained tended to be in the earlier stages of their careers, yet demonstrated higher research output. Notably, the representation of female orthopaedists in academic orthopaedics is on the rise. Conversely, lower-ranked programs faced higher turnover rates, highlighting the challenges that they encounter in retaining faculty members.

Clinical Relevance

Academic medical centers benefit from retaining orthopaedic surgeons by maintaining patient relationships, having consistency in resident education, and building on clinical and research expertise. Likewise, orthopaedists benefit from understanding the trends in current academic employment, in order to optimize career planning decisions.

The h-Index: Understanding its predictors, significance, and criticism

The h-index is an author-level scientometric index used to gauge the significance of a researcher's work. The index is determined by taking the number of publications and the number of times these publications have been cited by others. Although it is widely used in academia, many authors find its calculation confusing. There are websites such as Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science (WOS), and Vidwan that provide the h-index of an author. As this metrics is frequently used by recruiting agency and grant approving authority to see the output of researchers, the authors need to know in-depth about it. In this article, we describe both the manual calculation method of the h-index and the details of websites that provide an automated calculation. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the h-index and the factors that determine the h-index of an author. Overall, this article serves as a comprehensive guide for novice authors seeking to understand the h-index and its significance in academia.

Preserving the Pipeline of Surgeon Scientists: The Role of a Structured Research Curriculum

INTRODUCTION

With shrinking National Institute of Health support, increased clinical demands, and less time for research training during residency, the future of surgeon scientists is in jeopardy. We evaluate the role of a structured research curriculum and its association with resident academic productivity.

METHODS

Categorical general surgery residents who matched between 2005 and 2019 at our institution were analyzed (n = 104). An optional structured research curriculum, including a mentor program, grant application support, didactic seminars, and travel funding was implemented in 2016. Academic productivity, including the number of publications and citations, was compared between residents who started in or after 2016 (postimplementation, n = 33) and those before 2016 (preimplementation, n = 71). Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, multivariable logistic regression, and inverse probability treatment weighting were performed.

RESULTS

The postimplementation group had more female (57.6% versus 31.0%, P = 0.010), and nonwhite (36.4% versus 5.6%, P < 0.001) residents and had more publications and citations at the start of residency (P < 0.001). Postimplementation residents were more likely to choose academic development time (ADT) (66.7% versus 23.9%, P < 0.001) and had higher median (IQR) number of publications (2.0 (1.0-12.5) versus 1.0 (0-5.0), P = 0.028) during residency. After adjusting the number of publications at the start of residency, multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that the postimplementation group was five times more likely to choose ADT (95% CI 1.7-14.7, P = 0.04). Further, inverse probability treatment weighting revealed an increase of 0.34 publications per year after implementing the structured research curriculum among residents who chose ADT (95% CI 0.1-0.9, P = 0.023).

CONCLUSIONS

A structured research curriculum was associated with increased academic productivity and surgical resident participation in dedicated ADT. A structured research curriculum is effective and should be integrated into residency training to support the next generation of academic surgeons.

Global trends of targeted therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: A bibliometric and visualized study from 2008 to 2022

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an exceedingly prevalent malignancy with an exceptionally poor prognosis. Targeted therapy is an effective treatment option for patients with advanced HCC. However, there have been no bibliometric analyses of targeted therapies for HCC.

METHODS

This study aimed to assess the current status and future directions of targeted therapy for HCC to provide future scholars with clearer research contents and popular themes. Methods: Literature on targeted therapy for HCC from 2008 to 2022 was obtained from the Web of Science (WoS) and assessed using bibliometric methodology. Additionally, the VOS viewer was applied in the visualization study to conduct bibliographic coupling, co-authorship, co-citation, and co-occurrence analyses of publications.

RESULTS

A total of 10,779 papers were subsequently selected. Over the past 15 years, there has been a progressive increase in the number of publications on an annualized basis. China released the most publications in the field, whereas the United States had the highest H-index. Cancers published the most papers. Fudan University had the greatest sway in this area. Studies could be divided into 5 clusters: "Gene and expression research," "Mechanism study," "Nanoparticle study," "Targeted drug research," and "Clinical study."

CONCLUSIONS

In the upcoming years, more papers on targeted therapy for HCC are expected to be released, demonstrating the potential for this topic to flourish. Particularly, "Clinical study" is the following trendy topic in this field. Other research subfields may likewise exhibit a continuous tendency towards balanced development.

The Effect of Multiple Scopus Profiles on the Perceived Academic Productivity of Neurosurgeons in the United States

OBJECTIVE

Bibliometrics assessing academic productivity plays a significant role in neurosurgeons' career advancement. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of multiple author profiles on Scopus on neurosurgeon author-level metrics (h-index, document number, citation number).

METHODS

A list of 1671 academic neurosurgeons was compiled through public searches of hospital and faculty websites for 115 neurosurgical residency training programs. The h-index, document number, and citation number for each neurosurgeon were collected using the Scopus algorithm. For surgeons with multiple profiles, total document number and citation number were calculated by summing results of each profile. Cumulative h-indices were calculated manually. Comparisons were made between surgeons with a single Scopus profile and surgeons with multiple profiles.

RESULTS

A total of 124 neurosurgeons with multiple profiles were identified. Gender distribution (P = 0.47), years in practice (P = 0.06), subspecialty (P = 0.32), and academic rank (P = 0.16) between neurosurgeons with a single profile versus multiple profiles were similar. Primary profile h-index median was 16 (interquartile range [IQR]: 8-34), combined profiles median was 20 (IQR: 11-36), and percent loss median was 17.3% (IQR: 3%-33%) (P < 0.001). For document number, primary profile median was 46 (IQR: 16-127), combined profiles median was 55 (IQR: 22-148), and percent loss median was 16.2% (IQR: 7%-36%) (P < 0.001). For citation number, primary profile median was 1030 (IQR: 333-4082), combined profiles median was 1319 (IQR: 546-4439), and percent loss median was 14.1% (IQR: 4%-32%) (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

U.S. academic neurosurgeons with multiple existing profiles on Scopus experience a 17.3% loss in h-index, a 16.2% loss in document number, and a 14.1% loss in citations, heavily undercounting their perceived academic productivity.