Poomkottayil, D; Bornstein, MM; Sendi, P. 2011. Lost in translation: the impact of publication language on citation frequency in the scientific dental literature. SWISS MEDICAL WEEKLY 141: art. no.-w13148

[Eugene Garfield]

Poomkottayil, D; Bornstein, MM; Sendi, P. 2011. Lost in translation: the impact 
of publication language on citation frequency in the scientific dental literature. 
SWISS MEDICAL WEEKLY 141: art. no.-w13148..

Author Full Name(s): Poomkottayil, Deepak; Bornstein, Michael M.; Sendi, 
Pedram
Language: English
Document Type: Article

Author Keywords: citation frequency; publication language; impact factor
KeyWords Plus: JOURNALS; ENGLISH; RATES

Abstract: PRINCIPLES: Citation metrics are commonly used as a proxy for 
scientific merit and relevance. Papers published in English, however, may exhibit 
a higher citation frequency than research articles published in other languages, 
though this issue has not yet been investigated from a Swiss perspective 
where English is not the native language.
METHODS: To assess the impact of publication language on citation frequency 
we focused on oral surgery papers indexed in PubMed MEDLINE that were 
published by Swiss Dental Schools between 2002 and 2007. Citation frequency 
of research papers was extracted from the Institute for Scientific Information 
(ISI) and Google Scholar database. An univariate and multivariate logistic 
regression model was used to assess the impact of publication language 
(English versus German/French) on citation frequency, adjusted for journal 
impact factor, number of authors and research topic.
RESULTS: Papers published in English showed a 6 (ISI database) and 7 (Google 
Scholar) times higher odds for being cited than research articles published in 
German or French.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that publication language substantially 
influences the citation frequency of a research paper. Researchers should 
publish their work in English to render them accessible to the international 
scientific community.

Addresses: [Poomkottayil, Deepak; Sendi, Pedram] Univ Basel Hosp, Inst Clin 
Epidemiol & Biostat, CH-4031 Basel, Switzerland; [Bornstein, Michael M.] Univ 
Bern, Sch Dent, Dept Oral Surg & Stomatol, Bern, Switzerland
Reprint Address: Sendi, P, Univ Basel Hosp, Inst Clin Epidemiol & Biostat, 
Hebelstr 10, CH-4031 Basel, Switzerland.

E-mail Address: pedram.sendi at unibas.ch
ISSN: 1424-7860
DOI: 10.4414/smw.2011.13148
Fulltext: http://www.smw.ch/content/smw-2011-13148/