Bibliometric analysis of the literature relating to silicone hydrogel and daily disposable contact lenses

Abstract

PurposePublication metrics are derived for the fields of silicone hydrogel (SH) and daily disposable (DD) contact lenses. MethodsA search of the Scopus database for papers in the fields of SH and DD contact lenses found 979 SH and 291 DD papers. Subject-specific h-indices for SH lenses (hSH-index) and DD lenses (hDD-index) were derived, in relation to five categories – authors, institutions, countries and journals – to serve as measures of impact. A short list of the most impactful entities was generated for each of the above five categories in the SH and DD fields. ResultsA paper entitled “Soft contact lens polymers: An evolution” by Nicholson and Vogt was the most highly cited article (495 citations) in both SH and DD fields. The most impactful entities for the SH and DD fields were: authors – Lyndon Jones (hSH = 33) and Philip Morgan (hDD = 15); institutions – the University of Waterloo (hSH = 37) and the University of New South Wales (hDD = 15); countries – the United States (hSH = 45) and the United Kingdom (hDD = 24); and journals – Optometry and Vision Science (hSH = 33) and Contact Lens and Anterior Eye (hDD = 17). Overall, the SH field (hSH = 64) is far more impactful than the DD field (hDD = 34). ConclusionsImpactful papers, authors, institutions, countries and journals in the SH and DD fields are identified. Optometry is revealed as the leading profession in relation to SH and DD publications.