title: Clinical research in otolaryngology journals.
abstract: In an era of cost-effectiveness and quality control, the need for sound clinical research as a basis for health care decisions has intensified. To identify trends in clinical research, a survey of 1831 articles in four otolaryngology journals spanning a 20-year period was performed. Clinical research comprised 77% of all articles and has steadily increased in volume. Significant trends have occurred toward multiple authorship, more female first authors, and a declining proportion of articles with grant support. In 1989, a total of 224 articles (40%) employed analytic or experimental study designs vs only 64 articles (18%) in 1969. Descriptive studies and review articles have declined in prevalence. These findings suggest that over the past two decades, clinical research in otolaryngology journals has increased in both quantity and quality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213-2583.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Rosenfeld
mesh_terms: D015706:Bibliometrics; D010036:Otolaryngology; D010506:Periodicals as Topic; D012106:Research