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Reference accuracy in the Journal of Hand Surgery.
Kent Jackson1, Jack A Porrino, Virak Tan
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
The Journal of Hand Surgery
|May 29, 2003
Summary
Reference accuracy in the Journal of Hand Surgery significantly improved, with citation errors decreasing from 30% in 1985 to 11% in 1995. This suggests enhanced author guidelines positively impacted reference quality.
Area of Science:
- Bibliometrics
- Medical Publishing
- Scientific Communication
Background:
- Accurate citation is crucial for scientific literature.
- Previous studies identified reference errors in various medical subspecialties.
- The Journal of Hand Surgery was investigated for similar reference accuracy issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the accuracy of references in the Journal of Hand Surgery.
- To compare reference error rates between two distinct publication years (1985 and 1995).
Main Methods:
- A random sample of 100 references from 1985 and 100 from 1995 were selected.
- References were meticulously checked against original articles for accuracy in journal name, title, authors, year, volume, and page numbers.
- Error-free references were defined as exact matches to the original publication.
Main Results:
- In 1985, 30% of analyzed references contained at least one error.
- By 1995, the error rate decreased significantly to 11%.
- The observed error rates are comparable to those reported in other biomedical journals.
Conclusions:
- The Journal of Hand Surgery has demonstrated a reduction in reference errors over time.
- The implementation of revised, stricter author instructions in 1995 may have contributed to the improved accuracy.
- These findings highlight the impact of editorial policies on the quality of scientific referencing.