Citrome, L. 2010. Citability of Original Research and Reviews in Journals and Their Sponsored Supplements. PLOS ONE 5 (3): art. no.-e9876.

[Eugene Garfield]

Citrome, L. 2010. Citability of Original Research and Reviews in Journals and 
Their Sponsored Supplements. PLOS ONE 5 (3): art. no.-e9876.

Author Full Name(s): Citrome, Leslie

Language: English
Document Type: Article

KeyWords Plus: MEDICAL JOURNALS; ADDING KNOWLEDGE; IMPACT FACTOR; 
PUBLIC TRUST; ARTICLES; CITATIONS; QUALITY; POLICY; DRUG

Abstract: Background: The contents of pharmaceutical industry sponsored 
supplements to medical journals are perceived to be less credible than the 
contents of their parent journals. It is unknown if their contents are cited as 
often. The objective of this study was to quantify the citability of original 
research and reviews contained in supplements and compare it with that for 
the parent journal.
Methodology/Principal Findings: This was a cohort study of 446 articles 
published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (JCP) and its supplements for 
calendar years 2000 and 2005. The total citation counts for each article up to 
October 5, 2009 were retrieved from the ISI Web of Science database. The 
main outcome measure was the number of citations received by an article since 
publication. Regular journal articles included 114 from calendar year 2000 and 
190 from 2005. Articles from supplements included 90 from 2000 and 52 from 
2005. The median citation counts for the 3 years post-publication were 10 
(interquartile range [IQR], 4-20), 14 (IQR, 8-20), 13.5 (IQR, 8-23), and 13.5 
(IQR, 8-20), for the 2000 parent journal, 2000 supplements, 2005 parent 
journal, and 2005 supplements, respectively. Citation counts were higher for 
the articles in the supplements than the parent journal for the cohorts from 
2000 (p=.02), and no different for the year 2005 cohorts (p=.88). The 2005 
parent journal cohort had higher citation counts than the 2000 cohort 
(p=.007), in contrast to the supplements where citation counts remained the 
same (p=.94).
Conclusions/Significance: Articles published in JCP supplements are robustly 
cited and thus can be influential in guiding clinical and research practice, as 
well as shaping critical thinking. Because they are printed under the 
sponsorship of commercial interests, they may be perceived as less than 
objective. A reasonable step to help improve this perception would be to 
ensure that supplements are peer-reviewed in the same way as regular articles 
in the parent journal.

Addresses: [Citrome, Leslie] NYU, Sch Med, Dept Psychiat, New York, NY 10003 
USA; [Citrome, Leslie] Nathan S Kline Inst Psychiat Res, Orangeburg, NY 10962 
USA
Reprint Address: Citrome, L, NYU, Sch Med, Dept Psychiat, New York, NY 10003 
USA.
E-mail Address: citrome at nki.rfmh.org

ISSN: 1932-6203
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009876
Fulltext: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0009876