title: The Use of the h-Index in Academic Orthopaedic Surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Hirsch index (h-index), widely considered a valuable measure of assessing academic productivity, has been studied in various medical and surgical specialties and has shown strong associations between higher h-indices and academic promotion, as well as with National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards. Additionally, the m-index and e-index may complement the h-index in this assessment of merit. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the h, m, and e-indices and academic rank for 2,061 academic orthopaedic surgeons in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  The h-indices of faculty members from 120 academic orthopaedic surgery residency programs were organized and calculated using the Scopus and Google Scholar databases. Additionally, m-index and e-index scores were calculated from Google Scholar. After application of exclusion criteria, 2,061 academic orthopaedic surgeons were included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Academic rank (assistant professor, associate professor, professor, and chair) increases as mean h-index, m-index, and e-index scores increase. Among 976 assistant professors, 504 associate professors, 461 professors, and 120 chairs, mean h, m, and e-indices increased with each academic rank. In the comparison of male and female surgeons, there was no significant difference in h, m, or e-index scores, with the exception of increased h-index scores among male assistant professors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Scholarly impact, as defined by academic productivity and scientific relevance, can be classified by the h-index and supplemented by the m and e-indices. This study has revealed well-defined differences in h, m, and e-indices with regard to academic rank among orthopaedic surgeons. Although the h, m, and e-indices may be of value as adjunct assessment devices for scholarly merit, careful consideration of their limitations must be maintained.
authors.affiliation: 1Departments of Orthopaedics (S.B., J.A.I., S.A.L., and K.S.B.) and Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery (J.A.E.), Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Sevag
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bastian
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ippolito
authors.forename: Santiago A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Jean Anderson
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Eloy
authors.forename: Kathleen S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Beebe
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D015706:Bibliometrics; D004526:Efficiency; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009985:Orthopedics; D011643:Publishing