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. 2015 Sep;7(5):507-12.
doi: 10.4168/aair.2015.7.5.507. Epub 2015 Apr 15.

Progress and Prospect: A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Papers by Korean Allergists Over Recent Five Years (2009-2013)

Woo Jung Song  1 , Hye Mi Jee  2 , Dong In Suh  3 , Hyeon Jong Yang  4 , Jong Seo Yoon  5 , Jinho Yu  6 , Sang Heon Kim  7 , Young Min Ye  8 , Tae Bum Kim  9 , Seung Youp Shin  10 , Kapsok Li  11 , Cheol Woo Kim  12 ; KAAACI Scientific Program Committee
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Progress and Prospect: A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Papers by Korean Allergists Over Recent Five Years (2009-2013)

Woo Jung Song et al. Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2015 Sep.

Abstract

Since the establishment of the academic society in 1972, Korean allergists have made continuous efforts to elucidate pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic advances for allergic diseases. The present study aimed to summarize recent progress and explore future prospects of research performance by Korean allergists. We performed a comprehensive bibliometric analysis for research papers published in the Science Citation Index (SCI) or SCI-expanded journals by Korean allergists between 2009 and 2013. Research performance was quantitatively analyzed for the numbers of papers by publication year, research type, and main topic. In addition, the performance was also examined for qualitative indices, such as impact factor and citation number. A total of 1,091 papers were identified. The number of publication increased continuously, with an annual increase rate of 12.3%. Clinical and basic studies were the most frequent types of research, and recently the number of epidemiological studies has increased. By research topic, asthma was the most commonly studied, accounting for 20.9% of the total number of publications. Notably, the amount of rhinitis/rhinosinusitis research has risen steeply in 2013. Qualitative analyses also indicated continuous progress; the median impact factor of published journals increased from 1.918 in 2009 to 2.746 in 2013, yielding an annual increase rate of 7.4%. In conclusion, the present analyses identified a continuous increase in the research performance of Korean allergists over a recent 5 year period (2009-2013), both quantitatively and qualitatively. A more significant contribution is expected in the forthcoming era.

Keywords: Allergy; Korea; asthma; bibliometrics.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no financial or other issues that might lead to conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Publication number by year.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Annual trends of publication number by research type.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Annual trends of publication number by research topic.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Distributional dot plot for the numbers of publication and citation (2009-2013).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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