Abstract
ObjectiveThe Hirsch Index (h-index) and m-index are often utilized to assess academic productivity and have been widely found to have a positive association with academic promotion and grant selection. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between these indices and academic ranks among Canadian orthopaedic surgery faculty members.MethodsFive hundred and sixty-seven Canadian orthopaedic surgery faculty members associated with residency training programs were included in the study. H-indices of individual faculty members were obtained through Elsevier’s Scopus database. Faculty members’ year of residency graduation was recorded from their respective licensing body database and was utilized as a surrogate for the start of their academic career to determine career duration and calculate the m-index. Faculty members were divided based on their academic rank (assistant, associate and full professors) and subspecialty.ResultsIncreased h-index, m-index and long career duration were associated with increased academic rank, while gender did not demonstrate an association. Overall, males had a significantly higher h-index compared to females, but no significant difference was observed when comparing the m-index between genders. The m-index varied between subspecialties among senior faculty, but not among junior-ranked faculty.ConclusionBibliometric academic productivity using h-index and m-index is associated with academic ranking among Canadian orthopaedic surgeons at training institutions. Although these indices may provide insight into the academic merits of faculty members, caution must be taken about utilizing it indiscriminately and their limitations must be strongly considered.
Highlights
Five hundred and sixty-seven Canadian orthopaedic surgery faculty members associated with residency training programs were included in the study
Increased h-index, m-index and long career duration were associated with increased academic rank, while gender did not demonstrate an association
Similar to the findings of Ence et al in the United States, we found that the h-index differs significantly among clinical and academic orthopaedic surgery faculty at Canadian training programs
Summary
The utilization of bibliometric indices to assess academic productivity was first popularized by Eugene Garfield in 1955 with the introduction of the Science Citation Index [3]. Due to the variability in the utilization of these numbers by different institutions, there was a tremendous need for the development of a standardized and objective tool to measure academic performance. To combat this void, Jorge Hirsch introduced his novel bibliometric index, the h-index [5]. This, permitted the comparison of scientists within the same field but at different stages of their academic careers [5,6]
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