BACKGROUND: The statistical analysis is an essential procedure ensuring that the results of researches are based on evidences rather than opinion. The purpose of this study is to evaluate which statistical techniques are used and whether these statistical methods are used appropriately or not in the journal of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed 185 articles reported in the journal of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases in 1999. We evaluated the validity of used statistical methods based upon the checklist that was developed on the basis of the guideline for statistical reporting in articles for medical journals by International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. RESULTS: Among 185 articles, original articles and case reports were 110 (59.5%) and 61 (33.0%) respectively. In 112 articles excluding case reports and reviews, statistical techniques were used in 107 articles (95.5%). In 94 articles (83.9%) descriptive and inferential methods were used, while in 13 (11.6%) articles only descriptive methods were used. With the types of inferential statistical techniques, comparison of means was most commonly used (64/94, 68.1%), followed by contingency table (43/94, 45.7%) and correlation or regression (18/94, 19.1%). Among the articles in which descriptive methods were used, 83.2% (89/107) showed inappropriate central tendency and dispersion. In the articles in which inferential methods were used, improper methods were applied in 88.8% (79/89) and the most frequent misuse of statistical methods was inappropriate use of parametric methods (35/89, 39.3%). Only 14 articles (13.1%) were satisfactory in utilization of statistical methodology. CONCLUSION: Most of the statistical errors found in the journal were misuses of statistical methods related to basic statistics. This study suggests that researchers should be more careful when they describe and apply statistical methods and more extensive statistical refereeing system would be needed.
Checklist ; Journalism, Medical ; Korea ; Lung Diseases ; Tuberculosis*

No abstract available.
*Editorial Policies ; Humans ; *Journalism, Medical ; Peer Review, Research/*methods

OBJECTIVEThis study was designed to investigate the influence of journals indexed by Science Citation Index (SCI) on Chinese medical journals.

METHODArticles on medicine written by Chinese and the journals that published these articles from 2000 to 2009 were searched using Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E) database, and the status and variation tendency of the impact factors (IF) of these journals were analyzed. Data of articles on medicine included Chinese Scientific and Technical Paper and Citations Data (CSTPCD) from 2000 to 2008 were searched (the data of 2009 have not been released). The included articles and the time-dependent changing profile were studied. These outcomes were evaluated as the fixed base relative or link relative when compared with the data of 2000 or those of last year, respectively. Geometric mean was used when mean increase was calculated and IF distribution was described with median.

RESULTTotally 3774 articles from China were published by journals indexed by SCI-E in 2000, and the number of articles published by Chinese authors increased every year. In 2008, 16 714 articles were indexed by SCI-E, 442.87% higher than those of 2000. The increment was 161.54% higher than that of articles published in the journals indexed by CSTPCD (281.33%) during the same period. From 2000 to 2009, the geometric mean of increase in the number of published articles from China in journals indexed by SCI-E was 20.87% but it was 18.21% in CSTPCD. From 2000 to 2009, the median of IF of SCI-E indexed journals that published Chinese medical articles was 1.866, 2.073, 2.390, 2.702, 2.409, 2.496, 2.380, 2.218, 2.280 and 2.331, respectively, and they did not increase or even decreased.

CONCLUSIONThe number of the articles indexed by SCI-E increased year by year, much faster than that of CSTPCD. However, it does not necessarily mean the increase in impact.

This paper analyzes the scientific research guidance, author's area & units distribution, coauthor rate and quotations in "Chinese Journal of Medical Instrumentation", and offers some suggestions for the Journal so as to play an important role in scientific research in the future.
Bibliometrics ; China ; Humans ; Journalism, Medical ; Multivariate Analysis ; Periodicals as Topic ; statistics & numerical data

No abstract available.
Journalism, Medical* ; Peer Review, Research ; Publishing* ; Periodicals as Topic ; Editorial Policies ; Databases, Bibliographic

Abstracting and Indexing as Topic ; China ; Humans ; Journalism, Medical ; standards ; Pediatrics ; Translating ; Writing

Abstracting and Indexing as Topic ; Humans ; Journalism, Medical ; standards ; Pediatrics ; Periodicals as Topic ; Translations ; Writing

Correspondence as Topic ; Editorial Policies ; Humans ; Journal Impact Factor ; Journalism, Medical ; Periodicals as Topic ; Review Literature as Topic ; Writing

Abstracting and Indexing as Topic ; Humans ; Journalism, Medical ; standards ; Periodicals as Topic ; Translating ; Writing

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates whether Korean news media pay more attention to emerging diseases than chronic ones, and whether they closely follow the changes in the magnitude of health risks of chronic or well-known diseases. These two features are expected to appear as the result of surveillance function served by health journalism that should be the main source of the public's risk perception. METHODS: The number of stories published in 10 newspapers containing the words, 'SARS,' 'Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy,' 'Avian Influenza,' and 'Influenza A virus' was compared with the number of stories on chronic or well-known diseases. We also counted the annual number of stories, published in a 12-year period, containing following terms: 'cancer,' 'diabetes,' 'hypertension,' 'pneumonia,' and 'tuberculosis.' The number was compared with the actual mortality of each disease. RESULTS: Although cancer represented the primary cause of mortality, the newspapers covered key emerging diseases more than cancer or other well-known diseases. Also, media coverage of 'pneumonia' and 'tuberculosis' did not vary in accordance with changes in the mortality of each disease. However, the news media coverage did vary in accordance with the mortality of 'cancer,' 'diabetes,' and 'hypertension.' CONCLUSIONS: Korean health journalism was found to have both strong and weak points. The news media reduced the relative level of attention given to pneumonia and tuberculosis. Bearing in mind the major influence of news coverage on risk perception, health professionals need to be more proactive about helping to improve Korean health journalism.
*Access to Information ; Bibliometrics ; *Chronic Disease ; *Disease Outbreaks ; Humans ; *Journalism, Medical ; Newspapers ; Population Surveillance ; Public Health ; Republic of Korea ; *Risk Assessment