Academic impact rankings of neurosurgical units in the UK and Ireland, as assessed with the <i>h</i>-index

Abstract

AIM: Our aim is to measure and compare the academic and research output of neurosurgical departments across the U.K. and Ireland. METHODS: Using the Institute for Scientific Information Web of Science Bibliometric we collated the cumulative, h(c) [1950-2014], 10-year, h(10) [2004-2014] and 3-year, h(3) [2012-2014] data for neurosurgical departments in the U.K. and Ireland for each of the following: number of papers (Np), numbers of citations (Nc) and the h-index. RESULTS: In total, 37 neurosurgical departments were found in the U.K. and Ireland. We have ranked units according to their h-index. Two units could not be ranked as we were unable to separate the neurosurgical department publications from that of neurology. Most units maintained their h-index ranking across the three time periods. However, some units moved dramatically. We also compared the top five departments for each time period. Generally there is very good correlation between the three indices of h-index, Np and Nc. The greater the time period, the closer these indices correlated. We were also able to document the top five papers for each department. CONCLUSION: The h-index is useful for ranking neurosurgical departments according to their historical or recent publication output. It is particularly useful when restricted to the last 10-year period. We have been able to quantify and rank the academic output of neurosurgical units across the U.K. and Ireland, except where mentioned. This may be of interest to the clinician who wishes to pursue a career in academia or research.