Research productivity of Canadian ophthalmology departments in top 10 ophthalmology and vision science journals from 2001 to 2010

Abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate the research productivity of Canadian ophthalmology departments in terms of research volume, impact, funding, and cost-efficiency, and compare these measures with the top 6 U.S. departments. DesignSystemic review. MethodsUsing the Web of Science, we obtained the number of peer-reviewed research articles and citations in which an author listed an ophthalmology department (or affiliated university or hospital) from 2001 to 2010 in the top 10 ophthalmology and vision sciences journals, as well as the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology. Federal research funding received from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and National Institutes of Health was also obtained. ResultsThe 3 universities that produced the highest number of articles were the University of Toronto (UofT), McGill University, and the University of British Columbia (UBC). UofT also produced the largest number of citations, followed by UBC and Dalhousie University. For the number of citations per article, the top 3 were the University of Ottawa, Dalhousie University, and the University of Calgary. McGill University, the University of Montreal, and UofT received the most federal funding. The 3 Canadian universities with the lowest funding (cost) per article were UofT, UBC, and McMaster University. The top contributors to the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology from 2001 to 2010 were UofT, the University of Ottawa, and McGill University. ConclusionsLarger Canadian departments tended to generate higher research volume and obtained more federal funding, but smaller departments also contributed significantly, and sometimes surpassed larger departments, in terms of research impact and cost-efficiency. The top 6 U.S. departments generated higher research volume and received more federal research funding than their Canadian counterparts. However, when research impact and cost-efficiency were examined, Canadian departments performed similar to the top U.S. departments.