A Bibliometric Analysis in the Field of Pediatric Anesthesia and Turkey’s Contribution to Research

Abstract

Objective: Bibliometric analysis can be used to assess the contributions of scholars, institutions, countries by examining the materials published in a certain discipline. The objective of this study is to make a bibliometric analysis in the field of pediatric anesthesia and to examine Turkey's contribution to research in this field. Methods: I used the search engine of the Web of Science (WoS), and included all types of contributions (original articles, reviews, letters, editorials, etc.) in the bibliometric analysis. I scanned Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) as they were the most relevant indexes for my study. Statistical analyses were performed by using SPSS 22. I used a binomial test to make a comparison between Turkey and other countries in terms of research output, and academic performance. Results: Pediatric Anesthesia is the only journal that positions itself in WoS categories of both "pediatrics" and "anesthesia". A total of 5,791 citations were found in this particular journal of which 227 were from Turkey. In addition to this journal, 2,096 published materials were found in 433 different sources. Turkish authors have made only 61 contributions to these journals. Hacettepe University, Istanbul University, and Baskent University are the predominant institutions from Turkey accounting for a total of 80 published materials. Conclusion: The findings of this bibliometric analysis not only showed the contribution of Turkish authors to the field of pediatric anesthesia but also revealed the areas of improvement for their future research. The study also showed a list of journals that publish articles in the area of pediatric anesthesia.