Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Jul;98(3):250-5.
doi: 10.3163/1536-5050.98.3.014.

Publication rate of abstracts of papers and posters presented at Medical Library Association annual meetings

Sally A Harvey  1 , Janene R Wandersee
Affiliations

Publication rate of abstracts of papers and posters presented at Medical Library Association annual meetings

Sally A Harvey et al. J Med Libr Assoc. 2010 Jul.

Abstract

Objectives: This study sought to ascertain the publication rate of abstracts presented at the annual meetings of the Medical Library Association (MLA) for the years of 2002 and 2003. The secondary objectives were to examine possible reasons for non-publication and factors influencing publication.

Methods: A total of 442 abstracts from both meeting years, consisting of presented papers and posters, were examined. The 2 methods used to obtain a publication rate were literature searches and an online questionnaire sent to first authors. The questionnaire also asked abstract authors about reasons for non-publication and other factors that might have influenced their decisions about whether or not to submit the project for publication.

Results: The overall publication rate from the survey was 26.5%, and the publication rate found via literature searching was 27.6%. The most common reason given for non-publication was time restrictions. Also notable was the large proportion of abstracts written by librarians working at universities and those having 25 or more years in the library profession.

Discussion: Publication rates for abstracts presented at the Medical Library Association meetings for the years studied rank at the low end in comparison with other medical professional associations. Further research into factors affecting publication may reveal ways to increase this rate.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Place of employment of survey respondents
Figure 2
Figure 2
Years in profession of survey respondents
Figure 3
Figure 3
Respondents' chapter affiliations*
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Scherer R.W, Langenberg P, von Elm E. Full publication of results initially presented in abstracts. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2007. p. art no.: MR000005. - PubMed
    1. Miguel-Dasit A, Marti-Bonmati L, Sanfeliu P, Aleixandre R. Scientific paper presented at the European Congress of Radiology 2000: publication rates and characteristics during the period 2000–2004. Eur Radiol. 2006 Feb;16(2):445–50. - PubMed
    1. Hoag C.C, Elterman D.S, Macneily A.E. Abstracts presented at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting: determinants of subsequent peer reviewed publication. J Urol. 2006 Dec;176(6 pt 1):2624–9. - PubMed
    1. Preston C.F, Bhandari M, Fulkerson E, Ginat D, Kaval K.J, Egol K.A. Podium versus poster publication rates at the Orthopaedic Trauma Association. Clin Orthop. 2005 Aug;437:260–4. - PubMed
    1. Hashkes P.J, Uziel Y. The publication rate of abstracts from the 4th Park City pediatric rheumatology meeting in peer-reviewed journals: what factors influenced publication. J Rheumatol. 2003 Mar;30(3):597–602. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources