Analiza bibliometryczna polskich publikacji w światowym piśmiennictwie dermatologicznym w latach 1994-2005.

Introduction: Bibliometric analysis became a separate scientific discipline, frequently used to evaluate the output of research institutes. Objective: The aim of this study was the assessment of Polish contribution to the development of world dermatology between 1994 and 2005. Material and methods: The evaluation of Polish dermatological achievements was based on the frequency of Polish publications in eight prestigious dermatological journals divided in two groups: group A consisted of four mostly cited dermatological journals, and group B contained further four, meticulously selected, well known journals with a special interest on clinical aspects of dermatology. Results: Among 14.893 analyzed publications, we have identified a total of 70 papers, in which the first author (n=51; 72.86%) or one of co-authors (n=19; 27.14%) worked in Poland. Twenty eight (40%) were published in group A journals and 42 (60%) in group B journals. In group A, papers with Polish authorship accounted for only 0.27% of all publication, whereas in group B Polish reports constituted 0.93% of all papers. (group A vs. group B: p<0.001). In group A journals Polish papers were usually originals reports (n=22; 78.57%), rarely other types of publications were noted (n=6; 21.43%). In group B original articles also predominated (n=19; 45.24%), but Polish authors also published case reports (n=11; 26.19%) and review papers (n=7; 16.67%) (group A vs. group B: p=0.03). Conclusions: Polish researchers were the authors of a very small percentage of all published dermatological reports. It seems, that this undesirable observations could be changed only by increase of funds for dermatology in Poland. Scholarships dedicated for institutions that perform studies in the field of dermatology would substantially support this discipline. Hopefully, joining the European Union by Poland will have a positive impact on the development of dermatology in our country and, as a consequence, this discipline will be recognized by others as one of the leading Polish sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]