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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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Abstract

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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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Matthew R. Quigley

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Emma B. Holliday

  3. Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Clifton D. Fuller

  4. Department of Radiation Medicine, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd., KPV4, Portland, OR, 97239-3098, USA

    Clifton D. Fuller, Mehee Choi & Charles R. Thomas Jr.

Authors
  1. Matthew R. Quigley
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  2. Emma B. Holliday
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  3. Clifton D. Fuller
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  4. Mehee Choi
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  5. Charles R. Thomas Jr.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Charles R. Thomas Jr..

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Quigley, M.R., Holliday, E.B., Fuller, C.D. et al. Distribution of the h-Index in Radiation Oncology Conforms to a Variation of Power Law: Implications for Assessing Academic Productivity. J Canc Educ 27, 463–466 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-012-0363-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-012-0363-y

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