Trends in the quality & quantity of otorhinolaryngology research in Australia: 1989–2018

Abstract

Background: Trends in the quality and quantity of surgical research in Australia have recently experienced considerable growth, stemming from the adoption of the "evidence-based practise" framework. The aim of this 30-year retrospective epidemiological study is to identify and analyse trends in publication of clinical otorhinolaryngology research in Australia from 1989 to 2018. Methods: The 24 highest ranked otorhinolaryngology journals worldwide were identified based on their respective impact factor (IF). Using OVID MEDLINE/PubMed, each Journal was searched for publications with an Australian affiliation for the last 30 years. One investigator screened and analysed results, collecting relevant data for all articles meeting inclusion criteria. Results: A total of 1,095 articles were identified from the period between 1989-2018. There has been an exponential increase in the total number of publications throughout this time. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) accounted for 36 publications, whilst systematic reviews were tallied at 53 publications; with a trend towards publication of higher (level 1 & 2) levels of evidence. Level 4 evidence (prospective or retrospective case series), accounted for the largest quota of study designs, at 535 articles (48.9%). Furthermore, there has been a statistically significant increase in both multi-institutional and multinational collaborative research. Conclusions: There has been a considerable increase in the quantity and quality of otorhinolaryngology research within Australia in the last three decades. This is largely due to a strong impetus from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeon (RACS) on a developing academic surgical culture in concordance with financial support from bequeathing otorhinolaryngology foundations and a trend towards more multiinstitutional and multinational collaboration.

Trends in otolaryngology publications: A 9-year bibliometric analysis of articles published in Journal of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery

“…Bibliometrics is the process of analyzing the content and citations of journal articles to quantify trends in publication type, topic area, institutions of origin and dissemination of published data [ 4 ]. In OHNS, previous bibliometric studies indicate a considerable increase in the quantity and quality of research in the international arena [ 5 , 6 ]. However, within the Canadian landscape, Gurberg et al, demonstrated a decrease in Canadian authored papers in Otolaryngology journals over a 4-year period from 2008 to 2012 [ 7 ].…”

The Quality of Otology and Neurotology Research in Otology Journals

“…Wasserman et al, (15) in their study of 2,584 papers published between 1993 and 2003, found small but significant improvement in average LOE over that time interval. A more recent review from Australia in 2019 found that the total number of publications increased along with an increase in the proportion of high-level evidence with exponential increases in both the quantity and quality of the evidence over a 30 years period (16).…”

Does quality of research in otolaryngology correlate with academic impact?

“…By most metrics including LOE, these efforts appear to be working 2 . Even in smaller fields such as Otolaryngology, progress is being made demonstrating improvement in the quality of research output over the last several decades 3‐7 …”

“…2 Even in smaller fields such as Otolaryngology, progress is being made demonstrating improvement in the quality of research output over the last several decades. [3][4][5][6][7] There are several potential explanations for the observed increase in quality, but essentially distill down to two factors-authors submitting higher quality work and/or journals seeking/selecting higher quality work. Both are likely true.…”