Abstract
Background
Researches from the developing world contribute only a limited proportion to the total research output published in leading orthopedics journals. Some of them believe that there is substantial editorial bias against their work. We assessed the composition of the editorial boards of leading orthopedic journals.
Methods
The editorial boards of 18 leading orthopedic journals according to their impact factor were retrieved from their website. We evaluated in which countries the editorial board members were based and classified these countries using the World Bank income criteria.
Results
Individuals from number of countries can be found on the editorial boards of the investigated journals, but most of them are based in high-income countries. While 1,302 of the 1,401 editorial board members are based in countries with a high income according to the World Bank criteria, 37 are based in an upper middle income, 2 in lower middle income and none in a low-income economy.
Conclusion
The percentage of editorial board members in leading orthopedic journals is dominated by high-income countries with serious underrepresentation from low-income countries.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aluede EE, Phillips J, Bleyer J, Jergesen HE, Coughlin R (2012) Representation of developing countries in orthopaedic journals: a survey of four influential orthopaedic journals. Clin Orthop Relat Res 470(8):2313–2318
Patel V, Sumathipala A (2001) International representation in psychiatric literature: survey of six leading journals. Br J Psychiatry 178:406–409
Mendis S, Yach D, Bengoa R, Narvaez D, Zhang X (2003) Research gap in cardiovascular disease in developing countries. Lancet 361:2246–2247
Yach D, Kenya P (1992) Assessment of epidemiological and HIV/AIDS publications in Africa. Int J Epidemiol 21:557–560
Saxena S, Levav I, Maulik P, Saraceno B (2003) How international are the editorial boards of leading psychiatry journals? Lancet 361:609
Horton R (2000) North and South: bridging the information gap. Lancet 355:2231–2236
Horton R (2003) Medical journals: evidence of bias against the diseases of poverty. Lancet 361:712–713
Sumathipala A, Siribaddana S, Patel V (2004) Under-representation of developing countries in the research literature: ethical issues arising from a survey of five leading medical journals. BMC Med Ethics 5:5
Boldt J, Maleck W (2000) Composition of the editorial/advisory boards of major English-language anesthesia/critical care journals. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand 44:175–179
Sorrentino D, De Biase F, Trevisi A, Bartoli E (2000) Scientific publications in gastroenterology and hepatology in Western Europe, USA and Japan in the years 1992–1996: a global survey. Digestion 61:77–83
Tutarel O (2004) Composition of the editorial boards of leading medical education journals. BMC Med Res Methodol 4:3
Wilkinson G (2003) How international are the editorial boards of leading psychiatry journals? Lancet 361:1229
Conflict of interest
Probably the only conflict of interest is that the authors belong to a developing country.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Meena, S., Chowdhury, B. How international are the leading orthopedic journals: a look at the composition of the editorial board members of the top orthopedic journals. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 134, 619–622 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-014-1975-y
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-014-1975-y