Article type
Year
Abstract
Background:
Successful completion of a post-graduate degree in medicine in India requires a thorough investigation of a scientific issue in the form of dissertation, which is an important aspect of training future physicians in research. While dissertations are a mandatory requirement for graduation, publication of dissertation is not. Publishing findings, hypotheses, theories, lines of reasoning and evidence is critical to the progress of science. A formal determination of publication bias in post-graduate medical education dissertations has not been done.
Objective:
Assessment of publication bias in post-graduate medical education dissertations.
Methods:
We conducted a quantitative cross-sectional e-survey and followed the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys. The survey covered three areas of demographics, publication status and publication details. We contacted three medical associations and colleges in India. We used descriptive statistics to summarize data; we assessed differences in publication rates using the Mann-Whitney test.
Results:
The survey completion rate was 88% (212/241). Most responders were males (67%; 141/212) and completed the MD program (82%; 174/212) followed by MS program (15%; 32/212); 17% (35/212) of responders were from the specialty of preventive and social medicine and 12% (25/212) from pharmacology. The median year of post-graduation degree was 2009 (range 1982-2014). The overall publication rate was 36% (76/212); the adjusted publication rate with matched citations was 25% (52/212). Pharmacology graduates reported significantly higher publication rates than other specialties (P value < 0.001). The most common reasons cited for non-publication were time constraints (46%) followed by lack of awareness about the importance of publication (32%) and lack of qualified mentors (18%).
Conclusions:
Publication bias exists in dissertation studies associated with post-graduate medical education in India. Despite a mandatory publication policy by Medical Council of India a significant number of dissertations remain unpublished. There has been a positive publication trend (Figure) in recent years.
Successful completion of a post-graduate degree in medicine in India requires a thorough investigation of a scientific issue in the form of dissertation, which is an important aspect of training future physicians in research. While dissertations are a mandatory requirement for graduation, publication of dissertation is not. Publishing findings, hypotheses, theories, lines of reasoning and evidence is critical to the progress of science. A formal determination of publication bias in post-graduate medical education dissertations has not been done.
Objective:
Assessment of publication bias in post-graduate medical education dissertations.
Methods:
We conducted a quantitative cross-sectional e-survey and followed the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys. The survey covered three areas of demographics, publication status and publication details. We contacted three medical associations and colleges in India. We used descriptive statistics to summarize data; we assessed differences in publication rates using the Mann-Whitney test.
Results:
The survey completion rate was 88% (212/241). Most responders were males (67%; 141/212) and completed the MD program (82%; 174/212) followed by MS program (15%; 32/212); 17% (35/212) of responders were from the specialty of preventive and social medicine and 12% (25/212) from pharmacology. The median year of post-graduation degree was 2009 (range 1982-2014). The overall publication rate was 36% (76/212); the adjusted publication rate with matched citations was 25% (52/212). Pharmacology graduates reported significantly higher publication rates than other specialties (P value < 0.001). The most common reasons cited for non-publication were time constraints (46%) followed by lack of awareness about the importance of publication (32%) and lack of qualified mentors (18%).
Conclusions:
Publication bias exists in dissertation studies associated with post-graduate medical education in India. Despite a mandatory publication policy by Medical Council of India a significant number of dissertations remain unpublished. There has been a positive publication trend (Figure) in recent years.