The use of the Hirsch index in benchmarking hepatic surgery research

Abstract Background The Hirsch index (h-index) is recognized as an effective way to summarize an individual's scientific research output. However, a benchmark for evaluating surgeon scientists in the field of hepatic surgery is still not available. Methods A total of 3,251 authors who published...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of surgery 2013-10, Vol.206 (4), p.560-566
Main Authors: Cucchetti, Alessandro, M.D, Mazzotti, Federico, M.D, Pellegrini, Sara, M.D, Cescon, Matteo, M.D, Maroni, Lorenzo, M.D, Ercolani, Giorgio, M.D, Pinna, Antonio Daniele, M.D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic research
Age
Bibliometric measures
Bibliometrics
Databases, Bibliographic - statistics & numerical data
H-index
Hepatectomy
Hepatic surgery
Humans
Internet
Liver Transplantation
Publishing - statistics & numerical data
Statistical analysis
Studies
Surgery
Surgical therapy
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Background The Hirsch index (h-index) is recognized as an effective way to summarize an individual's scientific research output. However, a benchmark for evaluating surgeon scientists in the field of hepatic surgery is still not available. Methods A total of 3,251 authors who published between 1949 and 2011 were identified using the Scopus identification number. The h-index, the total number of cited document, the total number of citations, and the scientific age were calculated for each author using both Scopus and Google Scholar. Results The median h-index was 6 and the median scientific age, assessed with Google Scholar, was 19 years. The numbers of cited documents, numbers of citations, and h-indexes obtained from Scopus and Google Scholar showed good correlation with one another; however, the results from the 2 databases were modified in different ways by scientific age. By plotting scientific age against h-index percentiles an h-index growth chart for both Scopus database and Google Scholar was provided. Conclusions This analysis provides a first benchmark to assess surgeon scientists' productivity in the field of liver surgery.
ISSN:0002-9610
1879-1883
DOI:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2013.01.037