Dental research productivity in Argentina (1993 to 2003)

The scientific presentations at the annual meetings of the Argentine Division of the I.A.D.R. (S.A.I.O.) are proof of the scientific production of this country in dental research. Our annual meetings provide a forum for the rapid communication and discussion of research. However, only peer-reviewed articles, published in journals indexed in worldwide-accepted databases such as MEDLINE are permanent records of the research work and can reach out to a global audience. A useful indicator of quality and publication efficiency of research work is the rate of publication (RP), i.e. relationship between the quantity of presentations and subsequent publications in peer-reviewed journals. Previous works analyzed the two periods: 1980-1989 and 1990-1995 (Acta Odont. Latinoamer 7(2):39-46,1993 and Acta Odont. Latinoamer. 10(1):63-69, 1997). The aim of this work was to update the informatiod and study the publication rate of national Dental research works. The 1669 works produced by national research centers presented at the Annual Meetings of the S.A.LO. from 1993 to 2003 were evaluated. Employing the authors' index of the programs of the Annual Meetings of the S.A.I.O. we searched for possible publications in MEDLINE. The references obtained were compared with the presentations (title and authors) disregarding those that had not been communicated previously at our Division meeting. Presentations and the corresponding publications were grouped according to research center and within each center according to subject area. The following parameters were obtained: PR, time between Presentation and publication and language of publication. PR increased in 1993-2003 (1/4.8, 20.79%) when compared to the periods studied previously (1/8, 12%). Most of the publications were in English and had been published within 4 years after presentation. The increase in the number of S.A.I.O. presentations published in peer-reviewed journals shows an improvement in terms of research productivity in dental research in Argentina.