Abstract
Bibliometric analysis plays a crucial role in elucidating publication trends and aids
scholars in gauging the reach of prospective journals for their research dissemination.
Concerns with impact factor (IF) have led us to examine the trends in IF, corrected
IF (cIF), and Citescore in orthopaedic journals from 2016 to 2021 and compare them
with internal medicine and general surgery journals. Journal IF and cIF were obtained
from Journal Citation Reports and Citescore data from the Elsevier Scopus database
for the years 2016 to 2021. Orthopaedic journals were categorized, and 10 medicine
and surgery journals were selected for comparison. Mean values were analyzed to identify
trends. The study included 52 orthopaedic journals, evenly split between the United
States and the rest of the world, predominantly publishing in English. Mean IF in
orthopaedic journals increased from 1.93 (2016) to 2.78 (2021), with similar rises
in cIF and Citescore. These trends were consistent in specialty and general orthopaedic
journals. No significant differences were found in mean IF between these categories.
Medicine and surgery journals also experienced significant IF increases. Orthopaedic
journals have experienced growing esteem and extent from 2016 to 2021. Specialty and
general orthopaedic journals showed parallel growth. Researchers can utilize this
analysis for informed publishing decisions, potentially expanding their readership.
Keywords
bibliometric - impact factor - orthopaedic journals - Citescore - publication trends
