Journal of Orthopaedics celebrates its first Journal Impact Factor

Scholarly trends in global orthopedics research published through the journal of orthopaedics: A bibliometric analysis from 2013 to 2024

Background and aims

We provide an overview and data visualization trends of orthopaedic research published by the Journal of Orthopedics (JOO) from 2013 to 2024.

Methods

We used Scopus database to retrieve all articles published by the JOO from 2013 to 2024, as of 15.7.2024. Bibliometric analysis and visualization of the global orthopaedic literature were performed using Microsoft Excel and VOSviewer software to explore the research hotspots in this field in the past 12 years.

Results

The 2074 publications covered in the JOO published between 2013 and 2024 were identified. The annual average and six-year cumulative publications depicted growth rates of 36.23 % and 147.99 %, respectively. Of the 80 global publications, the main participating countries were from Europe (n = 26), and Asia (n = 13). North America (37.37 %), Europe (34.89 %) and Asia (30.42 %) contributed a significant share of journal output. The most contributing countries were the USA, followed by the U.K., India, and Japan. The visualization and analysis of topical research trends reveal that the JOO covers almost the entire spectrum of orthopaedic research, with the most focus on the Knee (26.38 %), Hip (21.53 %), Shoulder (8.79 %) and Spine (7.09 %) and its subfields, such as arthroplasty (882 papers), surgery (192 papers), radiography (177 papers), osteoarthritis (166), pain (135 papers), fractures (133) and arthroscopy (70). The 68 (3.32 %) of the 2047 publications received 30 and above citations and together received 3466 citations, constituting 51.73 % share of total citations. The Hospital for Special Surgery (USA), and Singapore General Hospital were the most productive organizations, while the most impactful organizations were the University of Toledo Medical Center (USA), and Università degli Studi di Messina (Italy). The most productive authors were R. Vaishya (India), and J.A. Dubin (USA), whereas V. Filardi (Italy) and J.M. Newman (USA) were the most impactful authors of the JOO.

Conclusion

The JOO is a destination for global orthopaedic research. It has progressively received an increasing number of manuscripts and depicted high annual average publication growth rates, besides witnessing an increase in the significant number of citations received. It has helped to improve the journal's ranking, impact and reputation.

Upsurge in Indian publications in Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine

There has been a substantial growth in India's publications in Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in the last few years. In 2022, it ranked number one in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations, number three among Asian countries, and number 14 globally. Its global contribution in the 1996-2022 period was 1.39%, as compared to 6.56% of China (4.72 times lesser), but this gap has reduced in 2022, where India's contribution increased to 2.82%, as compared to 6.32% from China (2.24 times lesser). More concrete efforts are needed to boost the research output from India to further enhance the quantum and quality of publications. It is recommended that adequate research funding and collaboration (national and international) is needed on priority to meet these demands and try to ensure that no good research is wasted, without a publication.

The progress report of the Journal of Orthopaedics

The Journal of Orthopaedics is one of the leading and fast-growing Orthopaedic journals from Asia (and India). It has demonstrated an increase in all the important journal metrics like submissions, citations, h-index, and Cite Score and has achieved its first journal impact factor in 2022.

Citation Trend Analysis of the articles published in the Journal of Orthopaedics®

Journal of Orthopaedics® is the premier Orthopaedic journal from India and contributes towards the improvement of the quality of Orthopaedic health care. It proudly received its first Journal Impact Factor of 1.5 in June 2023. Its Journal Level Metrics and Citation Analysis have shown an impressive growth. Citation Trend analysis provides a benchmark to gauge and quantify the scientific impact of journals in academic publishing.