Bibliometric analysis of orthopedic theses in Turkey
Caner Baysan1
, Dilek Yapar2, Mehmet Ali Tokgöz3, Aliekber Yapar4, Ebru Kul Baysan5, Tolga Tolunay3
1Department of Public Health, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
2Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health Antalya Muratpaşa District Health Directorate, Antalya, Turkey
3Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
4Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya, Turkey
5Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Etimesgut Şehit Sait Ertürk State Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
Keywords: Bibliometric analysis, education, orthopedics, theses
Abstract
Objectives: This study aims to investigate the topics distribution trend and evaluate the characteristics of orthopedics and traumatology residency theses during a 20-year period using a bibliometric analysis.
Materials and methods: Between January 2000 and December 2020, orthopedics and traumatology residency theses of all centers providing postgraduate education in Turkey were reviewed from the online application of the National Thesis Center of Higher Education Council. Using the advanced search screen, a total of 1,907 theses were reached. Massachusetts University Orthopaedics and Traumatology Fellowship Programs and Turkish Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology sub-study groups.
Results: During the study period, the three most studied topics ones were orthopedic trauma (n=536; 28.1%), adult reconstruction and arthroplasty (n=301; 15.8%) and spine surgery (n=203; 10.6%). The least studied subject was bone and soft tissue tumors with 3.8% (n=73). The topic with the highest rate of publication in all years was again orthopedic trauma. There was a very strong positive (r=0.876) correlation between the total number of thesis publications and the years (p<0.001; R2=0.767). Based on institutions types, the number of theses published in the training and research hospitals increased as of 2016. More theses were published than expected on orthopedic trauma, adult reconstruction and arthroplasty, sports injuries and arthroscopy, shoulder and elbow surgery, foot and ankle surgery in the training and research hospitals (p=0.003).
Conclusion: The orthopedic research trends were differentiated over the years in our country. The classification of the orthopedic thesis topics shows in which orthopedics subfield research subjects are concentrated in our country and in which fields, research is needed.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.