A descriptive analysis and checklist critique of the articles in the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics, 1996 to 2007.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to conduct a bibliographic analysis and assessment of the literature published in the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics (JCCP).


METHODS
The content of the 13 existing issues of the JCCP (1996-2007) were assessed. Articles were categorized by type, and information concerning author affiliation, academic/professional background and gender were tabulated. A second-level analysis applied specific criteria checklists to applicable articles to determine the quality rating of each paper.


RESULTS
There were 72 articles included in the analysis, of which 46% were case reports, 17% editorials, 13% case series, 10% narrative literature reviews, 10% commentaries, 4% "other," and 1% cross-sectional studies. Seventy-five percent of the authors were "private practitioners." A certification in chiropractic pediatrics was held by 43% of the authors; 65% of the authors were females, and 83% of the articles had a single author. After applying the checklist to specific articles, 13 articles (18%) scored 40% or better (range of 40%-67%), whereas 59 articles (82%) scored less than 40%.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this analysis suggest there is room for improvement in article type and publication quality of papers in the JCCP.
Pohlman
Katherine A
KA
Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research, Davenport, IA 52803, USA. katherine.pohlman@palmer.edu
Potocki
Eric N
EN
Lawrence
Dana J
DJ
D000043:Abstracting and Indexing; D001319:Authorship; D015706:Bibliometrics; D002684:Chiropractic; D006801:Humans; D026882:Manipulation, Chiropractic; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies