Author Characteristics Research Articles

LIS Practitioner-focused Research Trends Toward Open Access Journals, Academic-focused Research Toward Traditional Journals

A Review of:
 Chang, Y-W. (2017). Comparative study of characteristics of authors between open access and non-open access journals in library and information science. Library & Information Science Research, 39(1), 8-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2017.01.002
 
 Abstract 
 Objective – To examine the occupational characteristics and publication habits of library and information science (LIS) authors regarding traditional journals and open access journals.
 Design – Content analysis.
 Setting – English language research articles published in open access (OA) journals and non-open access (non-OA) journals from 2008 to 2013 that are indexed in LIS databases.
 Subjects – The authorship characteristics for 3,472 peer-reviewed articles.
 Methods – This researcher identified 33 total journals meeting the inclusion criteria by using the LIS categories within 2012 Journal Citation Reports (JCR) to find 13 appropriate non-OA journals, and within the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) to identify 20 appropriate OA journals. They found 1,665 articles by 3,186 authors published in the non-OA journals, and another 1,807 articles by 3,446 authors within the OA journals.
 The researcher used author affiliation to determine article authors’ occupations using information included in the articles themselves or by looking for information on the Internet, and excluded articles when occupational information could not be located. Authors were categorized into four occupational categories: Librarians (practitioners), Academics (faculty and researchers), Students (graduate or undergraduate), and Others. Using these categories, the author identified 10 different types of collaborations for co-authored articles.
 Main Results – This research involves three primary research questions. The first examined the occupational differences between authors publishing in OA journals versus non-OA journals. Academics (faculty and researchers) more commonly published in non-OA journals (58.1%) compared to OA journals (35.6%). The inverse was true for librarian practitioners, who were more likely to publish in OA journals (53.9%) compared to non-OA journals (25.5%). Student authors, a combined category that included both graduate and undergraduate students, published more in non-OA journals (10.1%) versus in OA journals (5.0%). The final category of “other” saw only a slight difference between non-OA (6.3%) and OA (5.5%) publication venues.
 This second research question explored the difference in the proportion of LIS authors who published in OA and non-OA journals. Overall, authors were more likely to publish in OA journals (72.4%) vs. non-OA (64.3%). Librarians tended to be primary authors in OA journals, while LIS academics tend to be primary authors for articles in non-OA publications. Academics from outside the LIS discipline but contributing to the disciplinary literature were more likely to publish in non-OA journals. Regarding trends over time, this research showed a decrease in the percentage of librarian practitioners and “other” authors publishing in OA journals, while academics and students increased their OA contributions rates during the same period. 
 Finally, the research explored whether authors formed different types of collaborations when publishing in OA journals as compared to non-OA journals. When examining co-authorship of articles, just over half of all articles published in OA journals (54.4%) and non-OA journals (53.2%) were co-authored. Overall the researcher identified 10 types of collaborative relationships and examined the rates for publishing in OA versus non-OA journals for these relationships. OA journals saw three main relationships, with high levels of collaborations between practitioner librarians (38.6% of collaborations), between librarians and academics (20.5%), and between academics only (18.0%). Non-OA journals saw four main relationships, with collaborations between academics appearing most often (34.1%), along with academic-student collaborations (21.5%), practitioner librarian collaborations (15.5%), and librarian-academic collaborations (13.2%).
 Conclusion – LIS practitioner-focused research tends to appear more often in open access journals, while academic-focused researcher tends to appear more often in non-OA journals. These trends also appear in research collaborations, with co-authored works involving librarians appearing more often in OA journals, and collaborations that include academics more likely to appear in non-OA journals.

Novija istraživanja porodice u Sociloškom pregledu - doprinos jačanju discipline

The paper analyzes 72 texts relevant to the sociological study of the family, published in the Sociološki pregled/ Sociological Review journal in the period between 2000 and 2017. The analysis includes a quantitative overview of the dynamics of work publishing, characteristics of authorship, representation of topics relevant to the sociological analysis of the family, as well as a qualitative overview of the research context. Special attention is given to papers analyzing the relationship of the family and related concepts (kinship, marriage, reproduction, gender, generations, parenthood), as well as those which focus on the impact of macro social processes and changes on aspects of family functioning. The concusion presents findings on development tendencies within the discipline, as well as the characteristics of sociological study of the family in Serbia.

Authorship characteristics of orthodontic randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses in non-orthodontic journals with impact factor.

This study was conducted to explore authorship characteristics and publication trends of all orthodontic randomized controlled trials (RCTs), systematic reviews (SRs), and meta-analyses (MAs) published in non-orthodontic journals with impact factor (IF). Appropriate research strategies were developed to search for all articles published until December 2015, without restrictions regarding language or publication status. The initial search generated 4524 results, but after application of the inclusion criteria, the final number of articles was reduced to 274 (SRs: 152; MAs: 36; and RCTs: 86). Various authorship characteristics were recorded for each article. Frequency distributions for all parameters were explored with Pearson chi-square for independence at the 0.05 level of significance. More than half of the included publications were SRs (55.5 per cent), followed by RCTs (31.4 per cent) and MAs (13.1 per cent); one hundred seventy-eight (65 per cent) appeared in dental journals and 96 (35 per cent) were published in non-dental journals. The last decade was significantly more productive than the period before 2006, with 236 (86.1 per cent) articles published between 2006 and 2015. European countries produced 51.5 per cent of the total number of publications, followed by Asia (18.6 per cent) and North America (USA and Canada; 16.8 per cent). Studies published in journals without IF were not included. Level-1 evidence orthodontic literature published in non-orthodontic journals has significantly increased during 2006-15. This indicates a larger interest of other specialty journals in orthodontic related studies and a trend for orthodontic authors to publish their work in journals with impact in broader fields of dentistry and medicine.

Level of evidence and authorship trends of clinical studies in knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy, 1995-2015.

There is increasing emphasis on publication quality and internationalization of author groups in orthopaedic literature. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the type of studies and the level of evidence (LOE) published in knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy (KSSTA) from 1995 to 2015. The secondary aim was to analyze trends in authorship characteristics in KSSTA. Two reviewers reviewed the table of contents of KSSTA and identified original papers from 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015. The reviewers graded LOE from Levels I to IV using guidelines from the University of Oxford's Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. For each article, the total number of authors and country of author group were also analyzed. A total of 880 papers were analyzed. The proportions in LOE have stayed consistent throughout the study period (n.s.). There has been a significant increase in the number of published articles and the number of Level I and II studies (P < 0.01). Therapeutic articles were the most common type. The mean number of authors per KSSTA article significantly increased from 3.9 to 5.7 over the 20-year period (P < 0.01). The number of represented countries increased yearly and academic institutions from 40 different nationalities published articles in the Journal. Of the examined years, the percent of articles with international collaboration was 17.6%. The proportion of LOE I and II articles published in KSSTA remains consistently high. Therapeutic studies are the most frequently published articles. There is an increase in international groups publishing in KSSTA. IV.

KARAKTERISTIK KEPENULISAN DAN KARAKTERISTIK ARTIKEL PADA JURNAL PSIKOLOGI UNIVERSITAS GADJAH MADA: KAJIAN BIBLIOMETRI

The purpose of this study is to know how the characteristics of authorship, authors involvement, and characteristics of the articles in the Jurnal Psikologi UGM 1976-2015 period. In this descriptive quantitative study, data were collected by documentation method. Jurnal Psikologi UGM is research subject, and all of article in the journal is unit analysis. Data were collected by documentation method while the data were analyze by the percentage formula and presented by table of frequency. As many as 53 numbers of Journal of Psychology UGM were collected. The results showed percentage of women author are (60,12%) higher than men. Most of them are lecturer (52,95%) and college students (35,30%), from the Faculty of Psychology Universitas Gadjah Mada (62,30%) and the other (37,70%). Education level of writer, post graduate (80%) higher than bachelor (20%). Joint authorship (56,88%) are higher than single authorship (43,11%), with the collaboration level of 0,56. Highest frequency the involvement of the authors is Faturochman as many as 16 articles. Most articles use Indonesian language (92,96%), and the rest in English. Long of article between 11-15 pages (41,9%) highest. Based on subject, Clinical and Counseling Psychology (25,5%) highest, and then Social Psychology (25,1%), Educational Psychology and Psychometrics (24,5%). Based on research methods of article, 67,22% articles using quantitative survey methods.

Progression of Authorship of Scientific Articles in The Journal of Hand Surgery, 1985–2015

For scientists, authorship is academic currency. Authorship characteristics have been studied in a subset of the surgical and medical literature, but trends in the specialty of hand surgery have not yet been investigated. Specifically, a longitudinal analysis of number, educational training, sex, and geographical origin of authors has not been conducted. We explored the progression of authorship of scientific articles in a leading hand surgery journal. We recorded number of authors, number of references, degrees, and sex of the first and senior authors as well as geographical origin of the corresponding author in The Journal of Hand Surgery in 1985, 1995, 2005, and 2015. All original work was analyzed. A total of 892 articles were reviewed. The mean number of authors per article increased significantly from 2.6 in 1985 to 3.9 in 2015 and the number of references increased significantly from 13.7 in 1985 to 22.6 in 2015. There was a significant increase in the proportion of first authors with an MD/PhD, PhD, master's or bachelor's degree since 1985. During that same time period, a decrease in the proportion of first authors who held solely an MD was seen. There was a significant increase in proportion of the number of last authors with an MD/PhD, PhD or Master's degree in that same time period. There has been significant growth in publications originating from the "Far East" and "Other" regions, with 4.2% and 5.0% of publications, respectively, in 1985 having increased to 10.3% and 7.4% of publications, respectively, in 2015. Female first authorship significantly increased over the study period from 7.9% in 1985 to 22.1% of publications in2015. There has been a significant increase in number of authors per article in The Journal of Hand Surgery. Similar to other studies, we noted shifts in the degrees most commonly held by authors, an increase in references per article, and a greater representation of international authors in the hand surgery. In addition, the proportion of manuscripts written by female authors has increased in the past 30 years, with the largest increase occurring between 2005 and2015. This manuscript strives to provide further insight into the changing characteristics of authors contributing to the hand surgery literature. With increased pressure to publish in academia, it is important to understand how publishing author characteristics have evolved over time. In addition, the published literature of a field could be considered one repository of the insights and advancements of the field. One would hope that the authors contributing to that literature are a deep and wide reflection of the people working in that field. Analyzing authorship is one way to assess the breadth and depth of contributions from the profession.

Shaping the Marketers of Tomorrow: An Analysis of 25 Years of Marketing Education Review

This article presents a bibliometric analysis of Marketing Education Review from its inception in 1990 until 2014. A brief history of the journal is presented and its content is analyzed. In total, 706 articles were studied in terms of their authorship, manuscript, and content characteristics. Descriptive statistics provide an overview of the research contribution. The findings show a trend toward coauthorship and longer manuscripts. On the basis of a keyword analysis, articles are related to education institutions, teachers, students and curriculum, which is aligned with the journal’s mandate. The conclusion is that Marketing Education Review is achieving what it set out to do.

Authorship Trends in 30 Years of the Journal of Arthroplasty

BackgroundWhile various studies have investigated trends in characteristics of authors in other medical literature, no study has examined these characteristics in the field of arthroplasty. MethodsA database was created of all articles published in The Journal of Arthroplasty in 1986, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015. Degree(s) of authors, number of authors, number of references, and region of institution were recorded. ResultsA total of 1343 original articles were assessed over the study period. There was a significant increase in the number of authors per publication from 3.45 in 1986 to 4.98 in 2015 (P < .001) and number of references per article from 17.36 to 29.76 (P < .001). There was a significant increase in proportion of first authors with a bachelor's degree (P = .001), MD/PhD (P < .001), and MD/MBA (P = .016), with a significant decrease in first authors with an MD degree only (P < .001). There was a significant increase in number of last authors with an MD/PhD (P = .001) and MD/MBA (P = .003). There has been a significant growth in papers from outside North America (P = .007), with a decrease in articles from the UK/Ireland (P = .003) and an increase in contributions from the Far East (P < .001). ConclusionTrends of authorship characteristics in the arthroplasty literature largely mirror those seen in other medical literature including increased number of authors per article over time, changes in author qualifications, and increased contributions from international author groups.

Mining authorship characteristics in bug repositories

Bug reports are widely employed to facilitate software tasks in software maintenance. Since bug reports are contributed by people, the authorship characteristics of contributors may heavily impact the performance of resolving software tasks. Poorly written bug reports may delay developers when fixing bugs. However, no in-depth investigation has been conducted over the authorship characteristics. In this study, we first leverage byte-level $N$-grams to model the authorship characteristics and employ Normalized Simplified Profile Intersection (NSPI) to identify the similarity of the authorship characteristics. Then, we investigate a series of properties related to contributors authorship characteristics, including the evolvement over time and the variation among distinct products in open source projects. Moreover, we show how to leverage the authorship characteristics to facilitate a well-known task in software maintenance, namely Bug Report Summarization (BRS). Experiments on open source projects validate that incorporating the authorship characteristics can effectively improve a state-of-the-art method in BRS. Our findings suggest that contributors should retain stable authorship characteristics and the authorship characteristics can assist in resolving software tasks.

Trends in Authorship Characteristics in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 1994 to 2014

Background: Trends in author qualifications, the number of authors per article, and the internationalization of author groups in sports medicine journals have not been widely investigated. Purpose: To examine trends in authorship characteristics in a single prominent sports medicine journal. Study Design: Systematic review. Methods: Articles published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM) in 1994, 2004, and 2014 were reviewed. For each article, the academic degree(s) of the first and last author, the total number of authors, the country of the author group, and academic institution status were recorded. Results: A total of 708 articles met the inclusion criteria: 129 in 1994, 244 in 2004, and 335 in 2014. There were significant differences in the proportion of first authors with an MD degree (80% in 1994, 75% in 2004, 67% in 2014; P = .01), a dual MD/PhD degree (4.7% in 1994, 6.2% in 2004, 9.3% in 2014; P < .001), and a bachelor’s degree (0% in 1994, 0% in 2004, 3.9% in 2014; P < .001). The proportion of last authors with an MD/PhD significantly increased over the 2 decades studied (7% in 1994, 13% in 2004, 17% in 2014; P = .01). The mean number of authors per article also significantly increased (3.8 in 1994, 4.3 in 2004, 5.8 in 2014; P < .0001). The proportion of articles published by an international group and the proportion of articles published by an academic institution increased over the 20-year span as well (both P < .0001). Conclusion: Within the past 2 decades, there has been a significant increase in the average number of authors per article in AJSM, as well as a higher proportion of international groups and academic institutions publishing in the journal. More nonphysicians are publishing in AJSM, with a significantly higher percentage of first authors with a bachelor’s degree as their highest degree. This is likely due to a combination of a general increased interest in research as well as increased competition among medical students. These factors have likely led to larger research groups and thus a significantly higher average number of authors per article.

The Arkhyz Savior A Rock-Wall Icon in Nizhnii Arkhyz, Karachay-Cherkessia (Russia)

The Arkhyz Savior, a.k.a. the Face of Christ, is a unique example of a rock-wall icon, presumably the oldest depiction of the Holy Face in Russia. It is located in Nizhnii Arkhyz, Karachay-Cherkessia. Its appearance is connected with the ancient capital of the Alan state, the city of Magas, the center of the Diocese of Alania, which existed here between the 9th and 13th centuries. The Arkhyz Jesus also displays a strong resemblance with the icon of Christ Pantocrator from the Monastery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai - one of the first images of the early Christian Church. This paper discusses current theories and hypotheses, concerning the time of this icon’s creation, its authorship, and certain characteristics of isographic presentation. It argues that this icon may be related to Onomatodoxy (imiaslavie, 1907-1916), the major heresy in 20th century Russian Orthodoxy associated with the Hieromonk Hylarion’s book, In the Caucasus Mountains. A Conversation of Two Hermit Elders about the Inner Union of Our...

An examination of the authorship of publicly available NBEA and ISBE International business education journal articles, 2001 - 2015

This study of the two NBEA and ISBE international business education journals, the International Journal for Business Education and the Journal for Global Business Education, examined the accessibility of the journals and the authorship characteristics of publicly available articles published in the journals between 2001 and 2015. Over 55% of the articles published in both journals were multiple authorship efforts, with inter-institutional collaborations constituting the greatest number of collaborations. Author rankings as well as adjusted authorship rankings were calculated for the two journals.

The case of case reports: A decade of publications by staff at a major university hospital

Rationale: The place of case reports in the medical literature has been much debated in recent years. This study was undertaken to gain knowledge about the publication practice of case reports and case series from a major university hospital.Method: We decided to conduct a retrospective, bibliographic, descriptive study of published case reports and case series from a university hospital in a period of 10 years. The following variables were studied: number of reports, authorship characteristics, collaboration practices, titles, medical specialities represented, educational versus non-educational purpose and number of citations.The data were extracted from the national research information system database in Norway.Results: 2.2%of all the publications were case reports. Multiple authorship was common. Male authors outnumbered female authors. Collaboration across hospitals and nations occurred for one third of the articles. 43%of the titles did not contain information that identified them as case reports or case series. The most frequently represented specialties were neurology, rheumatology, plastic surgery and medical genetics. Nine out of 10 articles were non- educational. A third of the articles had not been cited.Conclusions: The case report seems to be a minor, although viable, genre. The proportion of case reports and case series was low. A plausible hypothesis could be that clinician-researchers at the study hospital prioritized controlled clinical and paraclinical/laboratory studies that rank higher on the evidence hierarchy. Since case reports document the presentations of individual patients and their treatment, a declining interest in their publication has a significant implication for person-centered healthcare education and training.

Where Did We Come From and Where Are We Going? Examining Authorship Characteristics in Technical Communication Research

This study explores the characteristics of authors who have published in technical communication journals between 2008 and 2012 to generate insights into who is actively contributing to scholarship in the field. These insights drive a broader discussion regarding programmatic implications and interdisciplinary approaches to research. Research questions: (1) Who is publishing in technical communication journals? In which departments are they housed and in which departments did they receive their Ph.D. training? (2) What relationship exists between an author's departments (current and Ph.D.) and the publication venues he or she chooses? (3) What relationship exists between an author's department (current and Ph.D.) and the type of research he or she produces? (4) What relationship exists between an author's department (current and Ph.D.) and collaboratively authored articles? Also, is there a relationship between doctoral training outside the US and collaboratively authored articles? (5) Among authors with Ph.D.'s in technical communication, is there a relationship between doctoral program and research output (collaboratively authored articles and research method)? Literature review: All disciplines, especially maturing disciplines, must examine and evaluate the research its scholars produce in order to identify trends that signal growth and areas that require additional growth. Previous research indicates that departments in which people trained and where they work influence the research profiles of individuals, and by extension, the field. This is particularly true in technical communication, whose research features a plurality of methods, a positive attribute of the field. However, an uneven distribution of research methods used in the field also presents potential areas for growth. Methodology: A data set of 674 authors who have published in the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (TPC), Technical Communication Quarterly, and Journal of Business and Technical Communication (JBTC), between 2008 and 2012 was coded for current department, Ph.D. department, department with a technical communication degree program, research method, and collaboratively authored articles. Data were analyzed using contingency table analysis and correspondence analysis. Results and discussion: Authors from English departments constitute nearly 30% of the sample; authors from information systems and technology departments and management, business, and economics departments made up more than 20% of the total sample. A little over 20% of the sample received a Ph.D. degree in technical communication. Authors from information systems and technology departments and management, business, and economics departments are highly associated with TPC. Authors from English departments and writing departments were associated with TCQ and JBTC. TC is associated with authors from education departments and human-centered design departments. Authors from information systems and technology departments and management, business, and economics departments were associated with surveys and experiments. Authors from English departments were associated with case study and mixed methods research. Non-US authors and ones from engineering, computer science, linguistics, information systems and technology, and management, business, and economics departments were all highly associated with collaboratively authored articles. These results provide insights into which disciplines are most influential and opportunities to consider the approaches and training of our diverse population of scholars in an effort to build a cohesive body of research. The results are limited by the time frame of the study, and future studies could examine a more extensive sample to examine shifts in authorship characteristics over time.

Schistosomiasis in Malawi: a systematic review.

IntroductionSchistosomiasis remains an important public health problem that undermines social and economic development in tropical regions of the world, mainly Sub-Saharan Africa. We are not aware of any systematic review of the literature of the epidemiology and transmission of schistosomiasis in Malawi since 1985. Therefore, we reviewed the current state of knowledge of schistosomiasis epidemiology and transmission in this country and identified knowledge gaps and relevant areas for future research and research governance.MethodsWe conducted computer-aided literature searches of Medline, SCOPUS and Google Scholar using the keywords: “schistosomiasis”, “Bilharzia”, “Bulinus” and “Biomphalaria” in combination with “Malawi”. These searches were supplemented by iterative reviews of reference lists for relevant publications in peer reviewed international scientific journals or other media. The recovered documents were reviewed for their year of publication, location of field or laboratory work, authorship characteristics, ethics review, funding sources as well as their findings regarding parasite and intermediate host species, environmental aspects, geographical distribution, seasonality of transmission, and infection prevalence and intensities.ReviewA total of 89 documents satisfied the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Of these, 76 were published in international scientific journals, 68 were peer reviewed and 54 were original research studies. Most of the documents addressed urinary schistosomiasis and about two thirds of them dealt with the definitive host. Few documents addressed the parasites and the intermediate hosts. While urinary schistosomiasis occurs in most parts of Malawi, intestinal schistosomiasis mainly occurs in the central and southern highlands, Likoma Island and Lower Shire. Studies in selected communities estimated prevalence rates of up to 94.9% for Schistosoma haematobium and up to 67.0% for Schistosoma mansoni with considerable geographical variation. The main intermediate host species are Bulinus globosus and Bulinus nyassanus for urinary schistosomiasis and Biomphalaria pfeifferi for intestinal schistosomiasis. Seasonality of transmission tends to vary according to geographical, environmental, biological and behavioural factors.ConclusionTransmission of schistosomiasis in Malawi appears to be highly focal, with considerable variation in space and time. Many locations have not been covered by epidemiological investigations and, thus, information on the transmission of schistosomiasis in Malawi remains fragmented. Functional infection risk assessment systems based on systematic investigations and surveillance are required for developing informed prevention and control strategies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-014-0570-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

ANÁLISE DA PRODUÇÃO CIENTÍFICA REFERENTE À TEMÁTICA DE SUSTENTABILIDADE EM PESQUISAS DA ADMINISTRAÇÃO

&lt;p&gt;A cada dia o tema sustentabilidade se mostra mais recorrente nas pesquisas na área de Administração, sendo inúmeros os pesquisadores que procuram compreender a sustentabilidade e associá-la ao mundo corporativo. O objetivo geral do presente estudo consiste em investigar as perspectivas teóricas da produção científica em Administração direcionada para o tema nos anais do Encontro da Anpad e na Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental, em um período de oito anos. A pesquisa abrange a análise das características de autoria, dos procedimentos metodológicos e das bases teóricas, além de características qualitativas dos artigos selecionados. Trata-se de estudo qualiquantitativo, caracterizado como pesquisa descritiva, com aplicação da bibliometria e da Análise de Conteúdo. Foram analisados 103 artigos publicados no Encontro da Anpad (edições anuais de 2003 a 2010) e na Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental (edições quadrimestrais de 2007 a 2010). Os resultados mostraram um aumento da produção científica sobre sustentabilidade, o que evidencia o amadurecimento da área nessa temática. De forma mais pontual, verificou-se uma tendência para as coautorias; uma diversidade metodológica, não se limitando a teorias ou modelos predefinidos; e uma elevada incidência de propostas de modelos relacionados à sustentabilidade.&lt;/p&gt;

Propriedades dos estudos de teoria da contabilidade em um periódico científico brasileiro

This bibliometric study aims to evaluate the scientific production in the area of accounting theory, published in the Journal of Accounting and Finance (RCF), Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Sao Paulo (FEA / USP), from 2001 to 2010. Through a descriptive research design documentary, we identified and analyze 27 papers related to the selected area. The study analyzed the characteristics of authorship and networking research, predominantly authorship and networks linked to FEA / USP. Regarding methodological approach and typology, the study identified that most of the articles adopted the approach of economic rationality. Increase in the quantity of articles with positive approach in recent years, but prevailing normative studies in the period. It was observed that the authors favored the empirical studies, with heavy use of statistical tools and prevailing discussion about conservatism. Furthermore, the authors favored the consultation of international journals, books national and international and research dissertations and Eliseu Martins and James Ohlson were the most frequent cited authors. Finally, it was found that it is essential to the binding of the authors in the field of international institutions and researchers from other fields of knowledge to mitigate the endogeneity of scientific production, accounting bias and improve the reflection on the direction of accounting research in the area.

Bibliometrics Study on Authorship Trends in Periodontal Literature From 1995 to 2010

Biomedical research has grown considerably in the last few decades, and the authorship characteristics of the dental literature as a whole and of its specialty fields has changed significantly. Unfortunately, the bibliometrics of the periodontal literature have not been thoroughly investigated. The aim of this study is to investigate the bibliometrics of periodontal literature, assessing the geographic origin, study design, and topics investigated in periodontal research published from 1995 to 2010. Articles published in periodontal journals during 1995 to 2010 were retrieved through hand search. Inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied. The following variables were extrapolated from each article: number of authors, study design, topic investigated, financial support, and geographic origin. The general linear model assessed the influence of independent variables on number of authors per article, and χ(2) test assessed the statistical difference of the variables over years 1995 to 2010. A total of 2,260 articles were reviewed; 2,076 met the inclusion criteria. The number of authors per article increased (P <0.001) from 4.0 (1995) to 5.1 (2010). The proportion of articles published from North America and Europe decreased (P <0.001) from 84.3% (1995) to 58.6% (2010), whereas for Asia and South America the article proportion increased (P <0.001) from 13.8% (1995) to 40% (2010). Research targeting prevention and treatment of periodontal disease is decreasing (P <0.001) in favor of implant-related research. Governmental research funding is increasing (P <0.001). Periodontal research significantly changed during the last 15 years.

Schistosomiasis in Malawi: a systematic review

IntroductionSchistosomiasis remains an important public health problem that undermines social and economic development in tropical regions of the world, mainly Sub-Saharan Africa. We are not aware of any systematic review of the literature of the epidemiology and transmission of schistosomiasis in Malawi since 1985. Therefore, we reviewed the current state of knowledge of schistosomiasis epidemiology and transmission in this country and identified knowledge gaps and relevant areas for future research and research governance.MethodsWe conducted computer-aided literature searches of Medline, SCOPUS and Google Scholar using the keywords: “schistosomiasis”, “Bilharzia”, “Bulinus” and “Biomphalaria” in combination with “Malawi”. These searches were supplemented by iterative reviews of reference lists for relevant publications in peer reviewed international scientific journals or other media. The recovered documents were reviewed for their year of publication, location of field or laboratory work, authorship characteristics, ethics review, funding sources as well as their findings regarding parasite and intermediate host species, environmental aspects, geographical distribution, seasonality of transmission, and infection prevalence and intensities.ReviewA total of 89 documents satisfied the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Of these, 76 were published in international scientific journals, 68 were peer reviewed and 54 were original research studies. Most of the documents addressed urinary schistosomiasis and about two thirds of them dealt with the definitive host. Few documents addressed the parasites and the intermediate hosts. While urinary schistosomiasis occurs in most parts of Malawi, intestinal schistosomiasis mainly occurs in the central and southern highlands, Likoma Island and Lower Shire. Studies in selected communities estimated prevalence rates of up to 94.9% for Schistosoma haematobium and up to 67.0% for Schistosoma mansoni with considerable geographical variation. The main intermediate host species are Bulinus globosus and Bulinus nyassanus for urinary schistosomiasis and Biomphalaria pfeifferi for intestinal schistosomiasis. Seasonality of transmission tends to vary according to geographical, environmental, biological and behavioural factors.ConclusionTransmission of schistosomiasis in Malawi appears to be highly focal, with considerable variation in space and time. Many locations have not been covered by epidemiological investigations and, thus, information on the transmission of schistosomiasis in Malawi remains fragmented. Functional infection risk assessment systems based on systematic investigations and surveillance are required for developing informed prevention and control strategies.

Content Analysis of Papers Submitted to Communications in Information Literacy, 2007-2013

The author conducted a content analysis of papers submitted to the journal, Communications in Information Literacy, from the years 2007-2013. The purpose was to investigate and report on the overall quality characteristics of a statistically significant sample of papers submitted to a single-topic, open access, library and information science (LIS) journal. Characteristics of manuscript submissions, authorship, reviewer evaluations, and editorial decisions were illuminated to provide context; particular emphasis was given to the analysis of major criticisms found in reviewer evaluations of rejected papers. Overall results were compared to previously published research. The findings suggest a trend in favor of collaborative authorship, and a possible trend toward a more practice-based literature. The findings also suggest a possible deterioration in some of the skills that are required of LIS authors relative to the preparation of scholarly papers. The author discusses potential implications for authors and the disciplinary literature, recommends directions for future research, and where possible, provides recommendations for the benefit of the greater community of LIS scholars.