Examination of the Novel National Institutes of Health-Supported Relative Citation Ratio, a Measure of Research Productivity, Among Academic Plastic Surgeons

Abstract

Background Considerable interest has been devoted to quantifying research productivity for the purposes of academic appointment and promotion in plastic surgery. A novel bibliometric, the relative citation ratio (RCR), integrates features unavailable in prior metrics, such as the h-index, including the ability to compare researchers in distinct fields. This investigation examines the RCR in relation to established measures of academic productivity and provides the benchmark data in plastic surgery. Methods Online sources were queried to identify the characteristics of 955 academic plastic surgeons from 94 programs, ie, academic rank, gender, degrees, and fellowships. Bibliometric data were acquired using the iCite and Scopus databases. Comparative and correlational analyses of variables were performed. Results Academic plastic surgeons were exceptionally productive, with a mean RCR of 1.20 (interquartile range, 0.79–1.67) and a weighted RCR of 17.68 (interquartile range, 5.14–52.48). Increased mean RCR was significantly associated with advanced academic rank and fellowship training. Increased weighted RCR was significantly associated with advanced academic rank, male gender, PhD acquisition, publication experience, and fellowship training. The h-index was weakly correlated with mean RCR but strongly correlated with weighted RCR and publication experience. Conclusions The RCR was associated with established markers of academic productivity, indicating its validity as a reliable field-normalized measure for the evaluation of plastic surgery faculty. Because scholarly output is a potential factor with respect to decisions of hiring, promotion, and allocation of funding, this modality of standardized comparison is paramount for plastic surgeons who exist within a larger general surgery department.