scholarly journals How the scientific community responded to the COVID-19 pandemic: A subject-level time-trend bibliometric analysis

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0258064
Author(s):  
Mohammad-Reza Malekpour ◽  
Mohsen Abbasi-Kangevari ◽  
Sina Azadnajafabad ◽  
Seyyed-Hadi Ghamari ◽  
Negar Rezaei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Low Income ◽  
International Collaboration ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Physical Sciences ◽  
General Internal ◽  
Publication Count ◽  
Bibliographic Records

Background COVID-19 has triggered an avalanche of research publications, the various aspects of which need to be assessed. The objective of this study is to determine the scientific community’s response patterns to COVID-19 through a bibliometric analysis of the time-trends, global contribution, international collaboration, open-access provision, science domains of focus, and the behavior of journals. Methods The bibliographic records on COVID-19 literature were retrieved from both PubMed and Scopus. The period for searching was set from November 1, 2019, to April 15, 2021. The bibliographic data were coupled with COVID-19 incidence to explore possible association, as well as World Bank indicators and classification of economies. Results A total of 159132 records were included in the study. Following the escalation of incidences of COVID-19 in late 2020 and early 2021, the monthly publication count made a new peak in March 2021 at 20505. Overall, 125155 (78.6%) were national, 22548 (14.2%) were bi-national, and 11429 (7.2%) were multi-national. Low-income countries with 928 (66.8%) international publications had the highest percentage of international. The open-access provision decreased from 85.5% in February 2020 to 62.0% in April 2021. As many as 82841 (70.8%) publications were related to health sciences, followed by life sciences 27031 (23.1%), social sciences 20291 (17.3%), and physical sciences 15141 (12.9%). The top three medical subjects in publications were general internal medicine, public health, and infectious diseases with 28.9%, 18.3%, and 12.6% of medical publications, respectively. Conclusions The association between the incidence and publication count indicated the scientific community’s interest in the ongoing situation and timely response to it. Only one-fifth of publications resulted from international collaboration, which might lead to redundancy without adding significant value. Our study underscores the necessity of policies for attraction of international collaboration and direction of vital funds toward domains of higher priority.

scholarly journals Pediatric neurosurgical workforce, access to care, equipment and training needs worldwide

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. E13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Dewan ◽  
Ronnie E. Baticulon ◽  
Abbas Rattani ◽  
James M. Johnston ◽  
Benjamin C. Warf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
International Collaboration ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Training Needs ◽  
High Income ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Surgical Workforce ◽  
And Training

OBJECTIVEThe presence and capability of existing pediatric neurosurgical care worldwide is unknown. The objective of this study was to solicit the expertise of specialists to quantify the geographic representation of pediatric neurosurgeons, access to specialist care, and equipment and training needs globally.METHODSA mixed-question survey was sent to surgeon members of several international neurosurgical and general pediatric surgical societies via a web-based platform. Respondents answered questions on 5 categories: surgeon demographics and training, hospital and practice details, surgical workforce and access to neurosurgical care, training and equipment needs, and desire for international collaboration. Responses were anonymized and analyzed using Stata software.RESULTSA total of 459 surgeons from 76 countries responded. Pediatric neurosurgeons in high-income and upper-middle-income countries underwent formal pediatric training at a greater rate than surgeons in low- and lower-middle-income countries (89.5% vs 54.4%). There are an estimated 2297 pediatric neurosurgeons in practice globally, with 85.6% operating in high-income and upper-middle-income countries. In low- and lower-middle-income countries, roughly 330 pediatric neurosurgeons care for a total child population of 1.2 billion. In low-income countries in Africa, the density of pediatric neurosurgeons is roughly 1 per 30 million children. A higher proportion of patients in low- and lower-middle-income countries must travel > 2 hours to seek emergency neurosurgical care, relative to high-income countries (75.6% vs 33.6%, p < 0.001). Vast basic and essential training and equipment needs exist, particularly low- and lower-middle-income countries within Africa, South America, the Eastern Mediterranean, and South-East Asia. Eighty-nine percent of respondents demonstrated an interest in international collaboration for the purposes of pediatric neurosurgical capacity building.CONCLUSIONSWide disparity in the access to pediatric neurosurgical care exists globally. In low- and lower-middle-income countries, wherein there exists the greatest burden of pediatric neurosurgical disease, there is a grossly insufficient presence of capable providers and equipped facilities. Neurosurgeons across income groups and geographic regions share a desire for collaboration and partnership.

scholarly journals Orthopaedic research in low-income countries: A bibliometric analysis of the current literature

SICOT-J ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Simon Matthew Graham ◽  
Ciaran Brennan ◽  
Maritz Laubscher ◽  
Sithombo Maqungo ◽  
David G. Lalloo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Geographic Origin ◽  
High Income ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Orthopaedic Research ◽  
Level I

Background: To perform a bibliometric analysis and quantify the amount of orthopaedic and trauma literature published from low-income countries (LICs). Methods and methods: The Web of Science database was utilised to identify all indexed orthopaedic journals. All articles published in the 76 orthopaedics journals over the last 10 years were reviewed, to determine their geographic origin. Results: A total of 131 454 articles were published across 76 orthopaedic journals over the last 10 years. Of these, 132 (0.1%) were published from LICs and 3515 (2.7%) were published from lower middle-income countries (LMICs); 85.7% (n = 112 716) of published orthopaedic research was undertaken in a high-income setting. The majority of the studies (n = 90, 74.4%) presented level IV evidence. Only 7.4% (n = 9) were high-quality evidence (level I or II). Additionally, the majority of research (74 articles, 56%) was published in partnership with high-income countries (HICs). Conclusions: There is a stark mismatch between the publication of scientific reports on orthopaedic research and the geographical areas of greatest clinical need. We believe there is an urgent need for orthopaedic research to be carried out in low-income settings to guide treatment and improve outcomes, rather than assuming that evidence from high-income settings will translate into this environment. Level of evidence: IV

Author Choice of Journal Type Based on Income Level of Country

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-34
Author(s):  
Sumiko Asai
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Income Level ◽  
Open Access Journal ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Article Processing Charges ◽  
Gold Open Access

Readers can access open access articles for free, but authors or research funders pay article-processing charges to publish them. This requirement may deter authors in low-income countries from publishing in open access. This study investigates the choices that authors make among three types of open access journal and closed (subscription) journals in history, economics, science, and technology based on their countries’ income level. The sample comprises research articles published in journals in English in 2020 and indexed in Scopus. The results show that authors in low-income countries publish more in gold open access than do authors in lower-middle- and upper-middle-income countries, who tend not to publish in hybrid open access and to favour closed journals. Authors from high-income countries publish more in hybrid open access than do authors in the other groups of countries. Although major publishers waive their article-processing charges for authors in low-income countries, these authors amount to less than 1 per cent of the total. Improving the effectiveness of publishers’ waiver policies is necessary.

scholarly journals Scientific impact increases when researchers publish in open access and international collaboration: A bibliometric analysis on poverty-related disease papers

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. e0203156 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Gabrielle Breugelmans ◽  
Guillaume Roberge ◽  
Chantale Tippett ◽  
Matt Durning ◽  
David Brooke Struck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
International Collaboration ◽  
Scientific Impact ◽  
Related Disease

scholarly journals Quantifying the international collaboration of researchers and research institutions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Cardoso ◽  
Caroline Sayuri Fukushima ◽  
Stefano Mammola
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
International Collaboration ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
H Index ◽  
The Status ◽  
Number Of Publications ◽  
Limited Scope

Author-level metrics (number of publications, citations, h-index) remain prime yet controversial measures of academic performance. Among other issues, they do not account for collaboration and knowledge transfer between people, institutions and, ultimately, countries. They also do nothing to contradict the oblivion to which knowledge and data providers, such as field or lab researchers across the world, are often relegated, and they often serve to intensify the differences between high- and low-income countries. The internationalization of institutions is also gaining relevance, although no standard metrics exist yet. Given these considerations, the evaluation of careers and institutions by publication numbers does nothing to contradict the persistence of considerable inequalities within academia.To help change the status quo, we propose the i-index, a publication metric that incentivizes the collaborative attitude of scientists across borders. Following the same rationale used to calculate the h-index, we express the i-index as the i number of co-author countries in more than i publications. Widespread use of the index may promote the quest for international collaboration beyond the limited scope of one’s own country. It enhances the transfer of knowledge and recognition of often relegated collaborators. We also test the index at the institutional level, providing a tool that helps to quantify the effort many institutions are making toward fair practices in research benefits and data sharing. Our ultimate goal is that the adoption of this index will incentivize sharing and collaboration between those countries with greater access to research funding and infrastructure and less developed countries.

scholarly journals Medical services provided on the ‘Harmonious Mission—2017’ Peace Ark from China

2021 ◽  
pp. e001659
Author(s):  
Bihan Tang ◽  
Y Han ◽  
X Liu ◽  
H Zhang ◽  
M Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Cataract Extraction ◽  
Medical Personnel ◽  
International Classification Of Diseases ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
General Internal ◽  
Classification Of Diseases

IntroductionThe Chinese Naval ship Peace Ark provided humanitarian medical services to people in eight low-income countries in Africa and Asia during the 2017 “Harmonious Mission’. The expedition lasted 155 days. Our study aimed to analyse the details of the medical services provided including outpatient care, medical patrol, operations, examinations and medications.MethodThe patient demographic data and medical information were extracted from electronic medical records. The diagnoses and procedures aboard were coded by the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). The sociodemographic data of the medical staff aboard were collected via questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and statistical software (SAS, V.9.4) were used to analyse the data.ResultsIn total, 115 Chinese military medical personnel participated in the mission, completing a total of 50 758 outpatient visits, 10 232 medical patrols and 252 operations. The five most frequently used outpatient departments were ophthalmology, general surgery, general internal medicine, orthopaedics and traditional Chinese medicine. The five most common operations were lipoma excision, cataract extraction, skin tissue removal (such as warts and cysts), pterygium transposition and herniorrhaphy.ConclusionsOur study revealed the medical services in demand during the ‘Harmonious Mission—2017’. It is essential to report their experiences so that future ventures can provide medical services more effectively.

scholarly journals Assessing the effect of article processing charges on the geographic diversity of authors using Elsevier’s ‘Mirror Journal’ system

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Audrey C. Smith ◽  
Leandra Merz ◽  
Jesse B. Borden ◽  
Chris K. Gulick ◽  
Akhil R. Kshirsagar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Low Income ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global South ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Editorial Boards ◽  
Geographic Diversity ◽  
Article Processing Charges

Abstract Journals publishing open access (OA) articles often require that authors pay article processing charges (APC). Researchers in the Global South often cite APCs as a major financial obstacle to OA publishing, especially in widely-recognized or prestigious outlets. Consequently, it has been hypothesized that authors from the Global South will be underrepresented in journals charging APCs. We tested this hypothesis using &gt;37,000 articles from Elsevier’s ‘Mirror journal’ system, in which a hybrid ‘Parent’ journal and its Gold-OA ‘Mirror’ share editorial boards and standards for acceptance. Most articles were non-OA; 45% of articles had lead authors based in either the United States of America (USA) or China. After correcting for the effect of this dominance and differences in sample size, we found that OA articles published in Parent and Mirror journals had lead authors with similar Geographic Diversity. However, Author Geographic Diversity of OA articles was significantly lower than that of non-OA articles. Most OA articles were written by authors in high-income countries, and there were no articles in Mirror journals by authors in low-income countries. Our results for Elsevier’s Mirror-Parent system are consistent with the hypothesis that APCs are a barrier to OA publication for scientists from the Global South.

Mental health services for children in public care and other vulnerable groups: Implications for international collaboration

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panos Vostanis
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Low Income ◽  
International Collaboration ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Service Planning ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Public Care

Children in public care and other vulnerable young groups (homeless, adopted, refugees) are increasingly becoming the focus of policy and service planning. There is strong evidence that all these client populations have high rates of mental health problems which are closely associated with other needs. We also have good knowledge on the factors that predispose individuals to and maintain mental health problems, as well as on the reasons for their not easily accessing and engaging with services. There is less evidence on the effectiveness of interventions or service models, although some interesting patterns are beginning to emerge. These include the need for inter-agency commissioning, clear care pathways, designated provision, applied therapeutic interventions, training for carers and frontline practitioners, and multi modal programmes. This paper discusses these issues, as well as ways forward, both for systems with relatively well developed child mental health services and for low-income countries. Service quality can be greatly strengthened by international collaboration on policy, practice and research networks, training and research.

scholarly journals International Collaboration in Open Access Publications: How Income Shapes International Collaboration

Publications ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Cary ◽  
Taylor Rockwell
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Low Income ◽  
International Collaboration ◽  
Digital Publishing ◽  
Income Group ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Open Access Journals ◽  
International Collaborations ◽  
The Usa

Does the rise of open access journals change the way researchers collaborate? Specifically, since publishing in open access journals requires a publication fee, does income affect how researchers form international collaborations? To answer this question, we create a new data set by scraping bibliographic data from Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) journals. Using the four income group classifications from the World Bank Analytical Classifications, we find that researchers from low-income nations are more likely to form international collaborations than researchers from wealthier nations. This result is verified to be significant using a series of pairwise Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests. We then study which nations most frequently form international collaborations with other nations and find that the USA, China, Germany, and France are the most preferred nations for forming international collaborations. While most nations prefer to form international collaborations with high-income nations, some exceptions exist, where a nation most often forms international collaborations with a nearby nation that is either an upper-middle-income or lower-middle-income nation. We further this analysis by showing that these results are apparent across the six different research categories established in the Frascati Manual. Finally, trends in publications in MDPI journals mirror trends seen in all journals, such as the continued increase in the percentage of published papers involving international collaboration.

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