Author/Authors :
Ahmad, Suhaib JS. Undergraduate Medical School - University of Buckingham - Buckingham, UK , Ahmed, Ahmed R. Department of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery - Imperial College London - London, UK , Kowalewski, Karl Friedrich Department of General - Visceral and Transplantation Surgery - University of Heidelberg - Heidelberg, Germany , Nickel, Felix Department of General - Visceral and Transplantation Surgery - University of Heidelberg - Heidelberg, Germany , Rostami, Kamran Department of Gastroenterology - Palmerston North Hospital, New Zealand v , Stocker, Claire J Undergraduate Medical School - University of Buckingham - Buckingham, UK , Hakky, Sherif M. Department of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery - Imperial College London - London, UK , Archid, Rami Department of General - Visceral and Transplant Surgery - Eberhard-Karls- University Hospital Tuebingen - Tuebingen, Germany , McWhinnie, Douglas Department of Surgery - Milton Keynes University Hospital - Milton Keynes, UK , Mohajer-Bastami, Ata Department of Surgery - Chelsea and Westminster Hospital - London, UK , Seimenis, Dionysis Skiadopoulos Undergraduate Medical School - University of Buckingham - Buckingham, UK , Ahmad, Sami Istishari Hospital - Amman, Jordan , Mansour, Sami Department of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery - Imperial College London - London, UK , Ahmed, Mohamed H. Department of Medicine and HIV Metabolic Clinic - Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - Milton Keynes, UK , Mital, Dushyant Departmernt of HIV and Blood Borne Viruses - Milton Keynes University Hospital - Milton Keynes, UK , Exadaktylos, Aristomenis K. Department of Emergency Medicine - Inselspital - University Hospital of Bern - Bern, Switzerland
Abstract :
This review provides a comprehensive overview of more than 100 of the most cited studies in general medical journals and
evaluates whether citations predict the quality of a scientific article.
Background: The number of citations is commonly used as a measure of the quality and impact of a scientific article. However, it is
often criticised that the number of citations is in fact a poor indicator of the true quality, as it can be influenced by different factors
such as current trends.
Methods: This review was conducted in line with the PRISMA guidelines. The Journal Citation Report (JCR) within Incites allowed the
evaluation and comparison of articles, published in general medical journals, using far-reaching citation data drawn from scholarly and technical
journals and conference proceedings. All steps of the review were performed in duplicate and conflicts were resolved through consensus.
Results: The 100 most cited articles published from 1963 until the end of 2018 were identified. The number of citations ranged from 4012 to
31853. Most of the articles were published in the 2000’s, followed by the 1990’s, 1980’s, 1970’s and 1960’s, respectively. All of the articles
were published in five journals. There were 50 studies at level II, 28 at level V, 10 at level IV, 7 at level III, and 5 at Level I.
Conclusion: This systematic review provides an overview of the most cited articles, published in general medical journals. The
number of citations provides an indication of the quality of evidence. However, researchers and clinicians should use standardized
assessment tools rather than solely rely on the number of citations in order to judge the quality of published articles.
Keywords :
Article quality , Most-cited articles , Bibliometrics , General medical journals , Level of evidence , Citation classics
