Accountability Studies in Religious Non-Profit Organizations: Possible Contextual and Application Gaps

Having substantial accountability standards and practices is a vital practice to ensure the survival of Religious-Based Non-Profit Organisations (RNPOs). This is because the RNPOs are not only representing the religion’s ideals but at the same time, there are also responsible in disseminating ethical massage and good values in the community. Since the RNPOs played a significant role in society, many studies have highlighted the need to explore more accountability issues involving RNPOs. Hence, this study aims to provide a taxonomical review of literature that examined RNPOs’ accountability practices and subsequently, suggesting plausible contextual and application gaps for future research. In so doing, this study utilised van Helden and Nortcott’s (2010) and Rozaidy, Siti Nabiha, Rasid, and Raman (2017) taxonomical methods in categorising accountability studies in RNPOs. As a result, four main themes have been identified from 60 selected high-impact journal articles. The four themes are 1) examining the outcomes of corporate integrity and accountability practices; 2) evaluating the RNPOs’ internal control practices; 3) identifying financial reporting disclosures practices among RNPOs; and 4) exploring the influence of leadership skills on RNPOs’ accountability practices.

Inferring the causal effect of journals on citations

Articles in high-impact journals are, on average, more frequently cited. But are they cited more often because those articles are somehow more “citable”? Or are they cited more often simply because they are published in a high-impact journal? Although some evidence suggests the latter the causal relationship is not clear. We here compare citations of preprints to citations of the published version to uncover the causal mechanism. We build on an earlier model of citation dynamics to infer the causal effect of journals on citations. We find that high-impact journals select articles that tend to attract more citations. At the same time, we find that highimpact journals augment the citation rate of published articles. Our results yield a deeper understanding of the role of journals in the research system. The use of journal metrics in research evaluation has been increasingly criticized in recent years and article-level citations are sometimes suggested as an alternative. Our results show that removing impact factors from evaluation does not negate the in uence of journals. This insight has important implications for changing practices of research evaluation. Peer Review https://publons.com/publon/10.1162/qss_a_00128

Sashaying Across Party Lines: Evidence of and Arguments for the Use of Validity Evidence in Qualitative Education Research

Though the concept of validity is rooted in positivism, recent scholars have expanded the definition of validity to reflect more progressive paradigms, opening the door to consideration of validity in qualitative education research. Despite this evolution, to date a review of validity evidence in qualitative research has yet to be undertaken even though products offering recommendations for using validity or validity analogs (e.g., trustworthiness) in qualitative work has accelerated. In this chapter, I provide an overview of the history of validity in qualitative research and give an assessment of the use of validity evidence as presented in qualitative articles published in a high-impact journal. I use the results of this assessment to highlight validity practices that are well-represented in the research as well as those that are underrepresented, offering recommendations for how researchers can support the presentation of their work through reflection on these underrepresented elements. Additionally, I forward suggestions as to how qualitative researchers may approach using validity frameworks in planning their studies. Implications for qualitative and quantitative researchers are also discussed, along with suggestions for future work in exploring the use of validity in qualitative education research.

Demographic correlations for 100 most-cited authors in ophthalmic research; a bibliometric study

Background: To analyze the academic characteristics, career trajectory, scholarly publications, and demographic background of the 100 most-cited authors in ophthalmic literature. Methods: In this observational cross-sectional study, a database containing every ophthalmology journal article from 1967 to 2018 was built using Scopus journal article information. The 100 authors with the most citations were identified, along with a control group of authors with at least five publications. Information about each author, such as gender, institution, and educational degrees were found from online web searches. Intra- and inter-group analyses were performed to identify correlations that may lead to having a high level of impact in ophthalmology literature. Results: Of the 100 most-cited ophthalmologists, 56 practice in the United States (US) and only 12 are female. In an odds ratio (OR) analysis, highly-cited researchers more often lived in the US (OR, 2.97; P < 0.001), were male (OR, 2.4; P = 0.02), and graduated from an elite medical school (OR, 3.89; P = 0.02) and/or residency (OR, 3.67; P = 0.02), but were not from an undergraduate institution (P = 0.75). There was no difference in citation numbers between different ophthalmology subspecialties (P = 0.22) or advanced degrees (PhD, MPH in addition to MD). Women among the top-100-cited authors were more likely to author high impact journal articles (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Among highly-cited ophthalmologists, practicing in the US and attending a top medical school or residency program may provide training for a successful research career in ophthalmology. Additionally, top female ophthalmologists participate in more influential research.

Representation of Women on Plastic Surgery Journal Editorial Boards in the United States

Background During the past decade, a growing number of women have pursued medical careers, including in plastic surgery. However, woman physicians have tended to be underrepresented in a variety of leadership roles in their respective specialties. Objective We sought to evaluate the representation of female plastic surgeons on the editorial boards of high impact plastic surgery journals. Methods The gender of editorial board members on three high impact plastic surgery journals was evaluated from 2009 and 2018. The number of women on each editorial board was than compared to the number of board certified female plastic surgeons (BCFPS) and board certified female academic plastic surgeons (BCFAPS), a subgroup of BCFPS. Results There were 555 unique editorial board members from Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (PRS), Aesthetic Surgery Journal (ASJ), and Annals of Plastic Surgery (APS) from 2009 to 2018. During that period, 72 editors (13.0%) were women. At the beginning of the study, there were significantly fewer female editors than expected based on proportionate representation of BCFPS and BCFAPS to all board certified Plastic Surgeons (ABCPS) (p=0.007, 0.007 respectively). Over the course of the study there has been a 177% increase in women holding editorial board positions. At the end of the study period, women were adequately represented on all three editorial boards compared to their population data (BCFPS and BCFAPS). Conclusions Over the ten year period of this study (2009-2018), editorial boards have overcome the underrepresentation of women on their editorial boards and female plastic surgeons are currently adequately represented on the top three high impact journal editorial boards.

Authorship inequality: a bibliometric study of the concentration of authorship among a diminishing number of individuals in high-impact medical journals, 2008–2019

ObjectiveAuthorship and number of publications are important criteria used for making decisions about promotions and research funding awards. Given the increase in the number of author positions over the last few decades, this study sought to determine if there had been a shift in the distribution of authorship among those publishing in high-impact academic medical journals over the last 12 years.DesignThis study analysed the distribution of authorship across 312 222 original articles published in 134 medium-impact to high-impact academic medical journals between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2019. Additionally, this study compared the trends in author distributions across nine medical specialties and a collection of cross-specialty high-impact journal articles.Primary outcome measuresThe distribution of authorship was assessed using the Gini coefficient (GC), a widely used measure of economic inequality.ResultsThe overall GC for all articles sampled across the 12-year study period was 0.49, and the GCs for the first and last authorship positions were 0.30 and 0.44, respectively. Since 2008, there was a significant positive correlation between year and GC for the overall authorship position (r=0.99, p<0.001) the first author position (r=0.75, p=0.007) and the last author position (r=0.85, p<0.001) indicating increasingly uneven distribution in authorship over time. The cross-specialty high-impact journals exhibited the greatest rate of increase in GC over the study period for the first and last author position of any specialty analysed.ConclusionOverall, these data suggest a growing inequality in authorship across authors publishing in high-impact academic medical journals, especially among the highest impact journals. These findings may have implications for processes such as promotions and allocation of research funding that use authorship metrics as key criteria for making decisions.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Publications in Asia in 10 Years: A Systematic Review

Background: There have been numerous articles about the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). But there has been no specific article describing ACL in Asian countries. Objectives: This study aims to provide the publications about ACL in Asian countries in the last 10 years. Methods: We searched English full text with keywords “ACL” OR “Anterior Cruciate Ligament” AND “injury” OR “tear” OR “rupture” that were published from January 1st 2010 to December 31st 2019 on PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library. We included articles with at least one author affiliation in an Asian country. We analyzed the number of published articles per year, top 10 journals with the highest number of publications, top 5 authors with the highest number of published articles in the first order author, top 10 countries with the highest number of published articles, and the type of study. Results: A total of 821 articles were analyzed, of which 821 were included. Analysis of the number of articles by year revealed that 2019 was the highest number of published articles (n = 150; 18.3%). Study type analysis revealed that clinical research (n = 398; 48.5%) was the most frequent study type. Cohort studies were the most frequent type of clinical research (n = 169; 42.5%). The journal of knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy (KSSTA) had the highest number of publications in general (n = 108; 13.2%). Jung Ho Noh (n = 8) was the top author with the highest number of published articles in the first author order, and Ryosuke Kuroda (n = 24) was the top author with the highest number of published articles. Japan was the top country with the highest number of published articles (n = 203; 24.7%). Most of the studies (n = 395; 48.1%) were published in high index journals with an impact factor > 1.0. Conclusions: There has been an increase in the ACL publications among Asian authors over the past 10 years with the high impact journal publishers. This article demonstrates the increased interest in the ACL topic and could be used as a basis for future studies.

Do Protected Areas Matter? A Systematic Review of the Social and Ecological Impacts of the Establishment of Protected Areas

There is growing interest in evaluating the effects of establishing protected areas (PAs). However, the mechanisms through which the establishment of PAs achieved significant positive effects remain unclear, and how different conservation mechanisms have achieved significant positive social and ecological benefits has also not been sufficiently studied. In this study, we systematically reviewed exemplary cases from Asia, Africa, and South America, using panel data to assess the conservation effectiveness of nature reserves and national parks. By surveying 629 literature samples reported in 31 studies, we found that the establishment of PAs has positive influences on poverty reduction, family incomes, household expenditure, employment, forest cover, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and a reduction in forest fragmentation. Furthermore, we analyzed the specific aspects that influence the publication of a paper in a high-impact journal. We found that publication is more likely when the research uses panel data, matching methods of data analysis, large samples, and plots or PAs as research units and has significant evaluation results. Our results suggest that future studies should use panel data and matching method analysis to assess the impacts of PAs from multiple perspectives and focus on the effectiveness of specific conservation mechanisms in achieving positive effects.

An exercise in scientific writing for physicians in training

It is important to strengthen critical thinking and scientific writing abilities during medical training to support trainees in their research endeavors and prepare students for careers in academic medicine. This commentary describes an interactive workshop to encourage student engagement with scientific literature and contribution to scholarly discourse by writing letters to the editor (LTEs). Students in the MD-PhD program at McGill University were asked to identify an article from a high-impact journal and think about ways in which they could address its scientific content. Students completed this preparation on their own time and then attended a 90-minute workshop where their LTEs were finalized and submitted. The LTE workshops were conducted in 2017 and 2019, and student participation and informal feedback indicated that perceptions of the workshops were positive. The workshops provided students an opportunity to strengthen their critical appraisal and academic communication skills while also contributing to the scientific literature. Letters written by aspiring and practicing physicians add valuable clinical insight to the literature and promote physician engagement with research. Strategies to support the adoption of LTE workshops include incorporating them into longitudinal curricula in medical school and integrating them into journal clubs during residency or fellowship.