A Comparative Analysis of Spine-Related Research Achievements between Authors in Neurology and Orthopedics: Differences in Productivity and Collaboration Patterns

Abstract

Abstract Background Spinal surgeries are commonly performed by surgeons from the fields of neurology and orthopedics, and many articles related to the spine have been published by authors in both fields. However, there has been limited research that directly compares the research achievements(RAs) of these two groups of authors. This article conducted a comparative analysis of spine-related RAs between authors in neurology and orthopedics. This study examines differences in spine-related research productivity and impact between neurology and orthopedics authors using these measures, particularly with a novel clustering algorithm.Methods We gathered 2,148 articles written by authors in neurology and orthopedics from the Web of Science core collections, covering the period from 2013 to 2022. To analyze author collaborations(ACs), we employed the follower-leader algorithm (FLA) and conducted cluster analysis. A three-part analysis was carried out: (1) cluster analysis of ACs, (2) mean citation analysis, and (3) a CJAL score based on article category, journal impact factors, authorships, and L-indices. We then utilized R to create visual displays of our findings, including circle bar charts, heatmaps with dendrograms, 4-quadrant radar plots, and forest plots. The mean citations and CJAL scores were compared between authors in neurology and orthopedics.Results When considering first and corresponding authors, orthopedics authors wrote a greater proportion of the articles in the article collections, accounting for 75% (1,600 out of 2,148). The JCAL score based on the top 10 units each also favored orthopedics authors, with 71% (3,626 out of 6,139) of the total score attributed to them. Using the FLA, we observed that orthopedics authors tended to have more author collaborations across countries. Additionally, while citation per article favored orthopedics authors, the mean CJAL score favored neurology authors.Conclusion Authors in orthopedics have a higher number of publications, citations, and CJAL scores related to spine research than those in neurology. Authors in orthopedics tend to have more collaborations and coauthored papers in the field. The study highlights the differences in research productivity and collaboration patterns between the two fields in spine-related research and sheds light on potential contributing factors. The study recommends the use of FLA for future bibliographical studies.