Reference lists in medical journals--language and length

Area of Science:

• Bibliometrics
• Scientific Communication
• Medical Literature Analysis

Background:

• Analysis of reference lists in scientific publications is crucial for understanding research impact and trends.
• Previous studies have indicated a high self-citation rate and potential biases in reference selection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the quantity, age, and language distribution of references in medical journal articles.
• To determine optimal reference list lengths for original research articles.
• To assess the impact of language dominance on scientific literature accessibility.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative analysis of 8,251 reference lists from seven medical journals across English, French, German, and Swedish language areas.
• Comparison of reference language distribution with a Medline database search.
• Calculation of mean and range of references per article.

Main Results:

• The mean number of references per article ranged from 13 to 27, with a wide overall range (2-63).
• Approximately 6% of references were over 25 years old and potentially superfluous.
• English dominated reference lists at 91%, contrasting with a Medline search showing 59% English, suggesting neglect of non-English literature.

Conclusions:

• It is feasible to limit the number of references per original article to 20-25.
• The overwhelming predominance of English references may lead to the neglect of valuable research published in other languages.
• Authors and readers relying solely on English-language sources may miss significant contributions from non-English speaking regions.