title: Distribution of scholarly publications among academic radiology departments.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine whether the distribution of publications among academic radiology departments in the United States is Gaussian (ie, the bell curve) or Paretian.
  
  
  METHODS
  The search affiliation feature of the PubMed database was used to search for publications in 3 general radiology journals with high Impact Factors, originating at radiology departments in the United States affiliated with residency training programs. The distribution of the number of publications among departments was examined using χ(2) test statistics to determine whether it followed a Pareto or a Gaussian distribution more closely.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 14,219 publications contributed since 1987 by faculty members in 163 departments with residency programs were available for assessment. The data acquired were more consistent with a Pareto (χ(2) = 80.4) than a Gaussian (χ(2) = 659.5) distribution. The mean number of publications for departments was 79.9 ± 146 (range, 0-943). The median number of publications was 16.5. The majority (>50%) of major radiology publications from academic departments with residency programs originated in <10% (n = 15 of 178) of such departments. Fifteen programs likewise produced no publications in the surveyed journals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The number of publications in journals with high Impact Factors published by academic radiology departments more closely fits a Pareto rather than a normal distribution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Scott and White Hospital, Texas A&M Health Sciences Center, Temple, Texas 76504, USA. dr.john.morelli@gmail.com
authors.forename: John N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Morelli
authors.forename: Danial
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bokhari
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D015706:Bibliometrics; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D006801:Humans; D055811:Journal Impact Factor; D011642:Publications / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011872:Radiology Department, Hospital; D014481:United States