Journal Self-Citation Rates and Impact Factors in Dentistry, Oral Surgery, and Medicine: A 3-year Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to evaluate the evolution of journal self-citation rates (SCRs) and impact factors (IFs) over time in the dental journals. Materials and MethodsThe journals listed under the category “dentistry, oral surgery, and medicine” in the Journal Citation Reports for the years 2014-2016 were screened for the following: citations and self-citations to years used in IF calculation, IF, IF without self-citations (corrected IF), SCR, and quartile of the IF distribution the journal occupied (Q1-Q4). Additional data regarding the number of issues published annually, journal's access options, and country of publication were extracted from the “Journal Profile Page.” ResultsThe median SCR significantly declined between 2014 and 2016 (13.725 [0-57.049], 12.687 [0-52.326], and 10.667 [0-53.208], respectively [P < .05]), while at the same time, IFs and corrected IFs significantly increased. SCR was significantly higher in subspecialty journals than that in general journals, as well as in the ones publishing more issues per year. Open-access journals tended to present lower SCR compared to journals requiring payment. No statistically significant differences in SCR were observed with respect to the origin and quartile. Nonsignificant correlations (r < 0.3, P > .05) were found for SCR-IF and SCR-corrected IF for all years. ConclusionsThere was a statistically significant decrease in SCR during the observation period. SCR was not correlated to IF of dental journals. Subspecialty journals and journals publishing more frequently presented significantly higher SCRs. These findings suggest favorable publishing conditions and citation practices in the dental literature.