Table 1 Proportion of original research reports from the leading medical journals who cited members of the editorial board as authors
in 2006.
| Subject and editorial board | Number (%) of published reports, classified by editorial board membership of authors | ||||
| Surgery | Br J Surg(n = 207) | Ann Surg(n = 212) | J Am Coll Surg (n = 165) | Arch Surg(n = 139) | OR (p) |
| Br J Surg | 25 (12) | 4 (2) | 2 (1.2) | 4 (2.8) | 11.68 (4.56 to 35.23) p<0.0001 |
| Ann Surg | 11 (5) | 16 (7.5) | 24 (14) | 5 (3.6) | 0.96 (0.49 to 1.8) p>0.9999 |
| J Am Coll Surg | 2 (1) | 3 (1.4) | 22 (13) | 4 (2.9) | 9.38 (4.03 to 23.58) p<0.0001 |
| Arch Surg | 13 (6) | 3 (1.4) | 8 (5) | 13 (9.4) | 2.41 (1.09 to 5.07) p = 0.0175 |
| Paediatrics | J Paediatr Child Health (n = 94) | Pediatr Res(n = 392) | Pediatrics(n = 750) | Pediatr Infect Dis (n = 223) | |
| J Paediatr Child Health | 4 (4)* | 0 (0) | 4 (0.5) | 1 (0.5) | 12.09 (2.35 to 56.99) p = 0.0016 |
| Pediatr Res | 0 (0) | 30 (7.6) | 8 (1) | 1 (0.5) | 9.74 ( 4.45 to 23.51) p<0.0001 |
| Pediatrics | 0 (0) | 5 (1.3) | 37 (5) | 3 (1.3) | 4.54 (2.06 to 11.36) p<0.0001 |
| Pediatr Infect Dis | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 15 (2) | 19 (8.5) | 7.58 (3.58 to 16.28) p<0.0001 |
| General practice | Br J Gen Pract(n = 99) | Fam Pract(n = 92) | Am Fam Physican (n = 103) | J Fam Pract(n = 69) | |
| Br J Gen Pract | 8 (8) | 8 (9) | 3 (3) | 1 (1) | 1.85 (0.63 to 5.09) p = 0.2011 |
| Fam Pract | 5 (5) | 11 (12) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 6.62 (2.2 to 22.08) p = 0.0002 |
| Am Fam Physican | 0(0) | 7 (6%) | 8 (8) | 1 (2) | 2.65 (0.84 to 8.34) p = 0.0836 |
| J Fam Pract | 1 (1) | 0(0) | 1 (1) | 2 (3) | 4.36 (.31 to 60.7) p = 0.1649 |
| Psychiatry | Am J Psychiatry (n = 217) | Arch Gen Psychiatry (n = 114) | Br J Psychiatry (n = 135) | Psychol Med (n = 157) | |
| Am J Psychiatry | 15 (7) | 4 (3.5) | 1 (0.7) | 2 (1.3) | 14.81 (3.38 to 134.23) p<0.0001 |
| Arch Gen Psychiatry | 18 (8.2) | 15 (13) | 3 (2.2) | 16 (10) | 1.93 (0.95 to 3.77) p = 0.0586 |
| Br J Psychiatry | 12 (5) | 7 (6) | 34 (25) | 25 (16) | 3.4 (1.99 to 5.73) p<0.0001 |
| Psychol Med | 28 (13) | 13 (11) | 21 (15) | 36 (23) | 1.94 (1.19 to 3.13) p = 0.0053 |
| Obstetrics and gynaecology | Am J Obstet Gynecol (n = 459) | Br J Obstet Gynaecol (n = 188) | Fertil Steril(n = 392) | Obstet Gynecol (n = 253) | |
| Am J Obstet Gynecol | 1 (0.2) | 1(0.5) | 2 (0.5) | 4 (1.6) | 0.26 (0.005 to 2.02) p = 0.2722 |
| Br J Obstet Gynaecol | 21(4.5) | 15 (8) | 4 (1) | 15 (6) | 2.31(1.16 to 4.37) p = 0.0104 |
| Fertil Steril | 3 (0.6) | 1 (0.5) | 14 (3.6) | 1 (0.4) | 6.63 (2.23 to 23.65) p = 0.0001 |
| Obstet Gynecol | 23 (5) | 1 (0.5) | 6 (1.5) | 20 (8) | 2.89 ( 1.52 to 5.36) p = 0.0007 |
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Journal titles are abbreviated as in Index Medicus.
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*Bold type indicates the values for research reports by members of the journal’s own editorial board.
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n, number of research reports; OR, calculated as odds of research report published from journal’s own editorial board/odds of research report published from rival journal’s editorial board; p, statistical significance (Fisher exact test, 95% confidence interval with two sided test).
