Medical Librarians Participating in Systematic Reviews: Perspectives of Citation Analysis

Abstract

This study adopts a bibliometric approach to explore a focus on the general state of SRs worldwide, and analyzes the differences between SR writings with and without medical librarian involvement in terms of the differences in the number of authors, the country of institutional affiliation of the main author, the number of citing, and the number of times cited. The research objects were 22 journals that are included in the MEDLINE database were obtained a total of 9,030 SR articles published between 2014 and 2017. The results of the study revealed the following: A steady increase in the number of SR articles with librarians involved over the years. In terms of the characteristics of SR authors, the number of authors largely fell between three and seven regardless. A dominant proportion of institutional affiliations of the main authors for SR articles with librarians involved were located in the United States, exhibited librarians in highly developed countries had a higher rate of participation in SR. In terms of SR article citations, according to the t-test results, there was no significant difference in the number of citing between the presence and absence of librarian involvement, but a significant difference in the number of times cited between two. Suggestions of this study are as follows: Collaboration between clinical personnel and librarians in writing SRs should be encouraged, the state should enact SR relevant policies, and draw on SR-related services initiated by other libraries.

Keywords

• medical library
• medical librarian
• systematic reviews
• citation analysis