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
. 2020 Sep;41(8):1021-1026.
doi: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000002731.

Quality of Otology and Neurotology Research in Otolaryngology Journals

Leandro D Socolovsky  1 , Pavan Krishnan  1 , Rahul Ramraj  1 , Reuben Retnam  2 , Adam Sima  2 , Michael J Bauschard  1 , Daniel H Coelho  1
Affiliations

Quality of Otology and Neurotology Research in Otolaryngology Journals

Leandro D Socolovsky et al. Otol Neurotol. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: To identify trends in the quality of otology studies published in general otolaryngology journals over a 20-year period.

Study design: Retrospective analysis.

Methods: Otologic and neurotologic papers from 1997, 2007, and 2017 were identified in the three general otolaryngology journals with the highest Eigenfactor scores: the Laryngoscope, European Archives of Otorhinolaryngology, and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. The studies were reviewed and assigned level of evidence (LoE) based on standards set by the Centres for Evidence Based Medicine (CEBM). One-way analysis of variance were calculated with a 95% bootstrap sensitivity analysis performed.

Results: A total of 786 otology articles were reviewed for level of evidence, of which 557 (70.8%) were original, clinical research, eligible for LoE assignation. Total publications increased for each year in all three journals. Both the absolute number and proportion of high evidence studies (level of evidence 1 and 2) increased with respect to time in all three journals. Lower evidence studies (level of evidence 3, 4, or 5) made up 66.8% of total publications in 2017. There was a reduction in average level of evidence (towards higher quality evidence) by 0.431 units from 1997 to 2017 (Diff = -0.431 between 1997 and 2017, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in rate of change of level of evidence between 1997 and 2007 and 2007 and 2017 (0.033, p = 0.864).

Conclusion: Over a 20-year period the number of total publications increased with time. The majority of otology publications in 2017 were lower evidence studies, though significant increases in the number and proportion of high evidence studies in general otolaryngology journals were observed throughout the study period.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Masic I, Miokovic M, Muhamedagic B. Evidence based medicine – new approaches and challenges. Acta Inform Medica 2008; 16:219–225.
    1. Burns PB, Rohrich RJ, Chung KC. The levels of evidence and their role in evidence-based medicine. Plast Reconstr Surg 2011; 128:305–310.
    1. Bornmann L, Mutz R. Growth rates of modern science: a bibliometric analysis based on the number of publications and cited references. J Assoc Inf Sci Technol 2015; 66:2215–2222.
    1. Hung BT, Long NP, Hung LP, et al. Research trends in evidence-based medicine: a joinpoint regression analysis of more than 50 years of publication data. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0121054.
    1. Bergstrom C. Eigenfactor: Measuring the value and prestige of scholarly journals | Bergstrom | College & Research Libraries News. Available at: doi:https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.68.5.7804. Accessed June 25, 2019

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources