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Distribution of the h-Index in Radiation Oncology Conforms to a Variation of Power Law: Implications for Assessing Academic Productivity
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Distribution of the h-Index in Radiation Oncology Conforms to a Variation of Power Law: Implications for Assessing Academic Productivity

Matthew R. Quigley, Emma B. Holliday, Clifton D. Fuller, Mehee Choi and Charles R. Thomas
Journal of cancer education, v 27(3), pp 463-466
2012
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-012-0363-y
PMID: 22544537

Abstract

Article Biomedical and Life Sciences Biomedicine Cancer Research Pharmacology/Toxicology
Leaders of academic institutions evaluate academic productivity when deciding to hire, promote, or award resources. This study examined the distribution of the h-index, an assessment of academic standing, among radiation oncologists. The authors collected h-indices for 826 US academic radiation oncologists from a commercial bibliographic database (SCOPUS, Elsevier B.V., NL). Then, logarithmic transformation was performed on h-indices and ranked h-indices, and results were compared to estimates of a power law distribution. The h-index frequency distribution conformed to both the log-linear variation of a power law ( r 2  = .99) and the beta distribution with the same fitting exponents as previously described in a power law analysis of the productivity of neurosurgeons. Within radiation oncology, as in neurosurgery, there are exceedingly more faculty with an h-index of 1–2. The distribution fitting the same variation of a power law within two fields suggests applicability to other areas of academia.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Education, Scientific Disciplines
Oncology
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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