Perneger, TV. 2010. Citation analysis of identical consensus statements revealed journal-related bias. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY 63 (6): 660-664

[Eugene Garfield]

Perneger, TV. 2010. Citation analysis of identical consensus statements 
revealed journal-related bias. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY 63 (6): 
660-664.

Author Full Name(s): Perneger, Thomas V.
Language: English
Document Type: Article

Author Keywords: Research assessment; Research evaluation; Impact factor; 
Citations; Consensus statements; Bias
KeyWords Plus: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED-TRIAL; IMPACT FACTOR; ARTICLES; 
PUBLICATION; QUALITY; COUNTS; RATES; ASSOCIATION; INDICATORS

Abstract: Objective: To examine whether the prestige of a journal, measured 
by its impact factor, influences the numbers of citations obtained by published 
articles, independently of their scientific merit.
Study Design and Setting: In this cohort study, citation counts were retrieved 
for articles describing consensus statements that were published in multiple 
journals and were correlated with the impact factors of the source journals.
Results: Four consensus statements were published in multiple copies: QUOROM 
(QUality Of Reporting Of Meta-analyses) was published in three journals, 
CONSORT (CONsolidated Standards Of Reporting Trials) in eight journals, STARD 
(STAndards for Reporting of Diagnostic accuracy) in 14 journals, and STROBE 
(STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology) in eight 
journals. For each consensus statement, the impact factor of the source 
journal and the number of citations were highly correlated (Spearman 
correlation coefficients: QUOROM, 1.00; CONSORT, 0.88; STARD, 0.65; and 
STROBE, 0.81-all P < 0.02). When adjusted for time since publication, each 
logarithm unit of impact factor predicted an increase of 1.0 logarithm unit of 
citations (95% confidence interval: 0.7-1.3, P < 0.001), and the variance 
explained was 66% (adjusted r(2) = 0.66).
Conclusions: The prominence of the journal where an article is published, 
measured by its impact factor, influences the number of citations that the 
article will gather over time. Citation counts are not purely a reflection of 
scientific merit. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Addresses: Univ Hosp Geneva, Div Clin Epidemiol, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland

Reprint Address: Perneger, TV, Univ Hosp Geneva, Div Clin Epidemiol, 2 Rue 
Gabrielle Perret Gentil, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland.

E-mail Address: thomas.perneger at hcuge.ch
ISSN: 0895-4356
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2009.09.012
URL: http://www.jclinepi.com/article/S0895-4356(09)00312-6/abstract