OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the methodological quality and reporting quality of Meta-analysis literature published by acupuncture journals included in Chinese Science Citation Database (CSCD), and to provide references and demonstration for relevant studies. METHODS: The Meta-analysis literature published before December 2017 in , , and was retrieved by computer. AMSTAR was used for methodology quality evaluation, and PRISMA was used for reporting quality evaluation. RESULTS: A total of 69 literature was included. Among them, the co-authorship rate was 100% and the cooperation degree was 5.45. The first authors came from 32 institutions, and 29 literature (42.0%) was funded. The cited rate was 98.6%, and averagely each paper was cited 16.3 times. The mean score of methodology quality evaluation was (7.78±1.14) points, including 14 high-quality literature (20.3%), 50 moderate-quality literature (72.5%) and 5 low-quality literature (7.2%). The average score of reporting quality evaluation was (20.33±2.36) points, including 24 relatively complete literature (34.8%), 41 literature with certain defects (59.4%) and 4 literature with serious defects (5.8%). CONCLUSION The Meta-analysis reports published by acupuncture journals in CSCD have relatively high methodological quality and reporting quality, which could provide evidence for clinical decision making, but still the quality level needed to be further enhanced according to the writing standard of Meta-analysis report. At the same time, the overall level of experimental research should be constantly improved to promote the development of evidence-based research on acupuncture and promote the formation of high-quality evidence.
Acupuncture Therapy ; China ; Databases, Factual ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; Periodicals as Topic ; standards ; statistics & numerical data ; Publications

Our study aimed to amplify and explain the items of statistical reporting requirements proposed by medical journals, and to improve the statistical reporting quality of medical articles. Statistical reporting requirements were obtained from the reporting standards published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency of Health Research (EQUATOR) network, and the editorial board of Chinese Medical Journal, etc. The items involved in statistical reporting requirements were summarized as issues of study design, statistical analysis, and interpretation of results. Each item was amplified based on cases of original articles. It is noticeable that the statistical reporting requirements of English medical journals generally referring to guidance documents, including "Recommendations for the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of scholarly work in medical journals" proposed by the ICMJE, or the statements for different study types published by the EQUATOR network, where the statistical reporting of medical articles had been detailed specified. The statistical reporting requirements of Chinese medical journals, however, were usually stated by the editorial boards. Although the formats and contents of statistical analysis had been regulated, the requirements of Chinese medical journals were to some extent insufficient and should be enhanced in accordance with the international standards. In conclusion, the amplification and explanation of statistical reporting requirements were expected to help investigators understand the requirements for statistical reporting in medical researches, so as to effectively improve the quality of medical articles.
Biomedical Research ; Editorial Policies ; Humans ; Periodicals as Topic/standards* ; Publishing/standards* ; Reference Standards ; Research Design

OBJECTIVETo survey the reporting quality of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) case reports published in recent years and understand the common problems. The assessment results would lay the foundation for the development of recommendations for case report in Chinese medicine.

METHODSThis survey determined the reporting quality of cases with Chinese herbal decoction, Chinese proprietary medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion and other traditional therapies published in 20 core medical journals of China by searching the China Academic Journals Full-text Database from 2006 to 2010. Fifty survey items in 16 domains were used to determine the reporting quality. One point was assigned to each item (Yes=1 point; No=0 point), and total score was 50 points. The domain of treatment was assessed independently, ranging from 2 to 9 items for different TCM interventions.

RESULTSThe total of 1,858 case reports, covering 3,417 cases were included to analyze from 13 out of 20 core medical journals of China. There were 74.8% of them did not identify the nature of study in title, while 73.9% did not comprise an abstract. Incomplete reporting was found in discussions/ comment, and only 38.9% had made recommendations or take-away messages. Figures and tables were infrequently used. Three cases cited the full names of patients, but without declaring that any consent was obtained. Over 90% reported the symptoms and signs of TCM, and characteristics on tongue and pulse, but less than 50% did mention other medical history and diagnostic rationale. More than 90% treatments of the included cases were herbal decoction, with clear reporting on the ingredients and dosages. However, the reporting rate of the dosages of each ingredient was just 48.4%. Almost none reported the quality control of crude herbs, manufacturers and lot numbers of herbal proprietary medicine. Besides, advices and precautions on diet, emotions and living were rare to be illustrated.

CONCLUSIONSystematic reporting recommendations are urged to develop for improving the contents and format of case reports in TCM.

Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Periodicals as Topic ; Quality Assurance, Health Care ; Research Report ; standards

Periodicals as Topic ; Publications ; standards

PURPOSE: In April 2013, the journal metrics of the Korean Journal of Urology (KJU) were reported. That report showed tremendous improvement from the point of view of journal metrics. Two years later, the same metrics were reanalyzed to determine the present position of the KJU among the international journals in the Web of Science. MATERIALS AND METHODS: I analyzed journal metrics of the KJU such as impact factor, total citations, and h-index by use of the same methods as in the previous report. RESULTS: Total citations in the Web of Science were 332 in 2012, 439 in 2013, and 578 in 2014. Manually calculated impact factors from 2012 to 2014 were 0.770, 0.824, and 0.751, respectively. There was an increase in the h-index from 8 in 2012 to 11 in February 2015. Editorial board members were from 15 countries in 2014. Authors of KJU articles were from 21 countries in 2014. CONCLUSIONS: During 2 years, remarkable progress was made in KJU's citation indicators and in the diversity of the authors' and editorial board members' countries.
Bibliometrics ; Humans ; Journal Impact Factor ; Periodicals as Topic/standards ; Quality Improvement ; Republic of Korea ; *Urology

OBJECTIVEThe number of analyzed outcome variables is important in the statistical analysis and interpretation of research findings. This study investigated published papers in the field of environmental health studies. We aimed to examine whether differences in the number of reported outcome variables exist between papers with non-significant findings compared to those with significant findings. Articles on the maternal exposure to mercury and child development were used as examples.

METHODSArticles published between 1995 and 2013 focusing on the relationships between maternal exposure to mercury and child development were collected from Medline and Scopus.

RESULTSOf 87 extracted papers, 73 used statistical significance testing and 38 (43.7%) of these reported 'non-significant' (P>0.05) findings. The median number of child development outcome variables in papers reporting 'significant' (n=35) and 'non-significant' (n=38) results was 4 versus 7, respectively (Mann-Whitney test P-value=0.014). An elevated number of outcome variables was especially found in papers reporting non-significant associations between maternal mercury and outcomes when mercury was the only analyzed exposure variable.

CONCLUSIONAuthors often report analyzed health outcome variables based on their P-values rather than on stated primary research questions. Such a practice probably skews the research evidence.

Bias ; Child ; Child Development ; drug effects ; physiology ; Environmental Exposure ; statistics & numerical data ; Environmental Health ; statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Humans ; Maternal Exposure ; statistics & numerical data ; Mercury ; toxicity ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; standards ; Periodicals as Topic ; standards ; statistics & numerical data

At the 4th Guangzhou International Symposium on Oncology, Rui-Hua Xu, Chao-Nan Qian, and Wei Zhang--the chairmen and editors of the Chinese Journal of Cancer--announced and presented awards to 14 authors in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the journal.
Awards and Prizes ; Biomedical Research ; standards ; Congresses as Topic ; Humans ; Medical Oncology ; standards ; Periodicals as Topic

No abstract available.
Humans ; Periodicals as Topic/standards/*trends ; Publishing/standards/trends ; Republic of Korea ; Urology/standards/*trends

Citations to scholarly items are building bricks for multidisciplinary science communication. Citation analyses are currently influencing individual career advancement and ranking of academic and research institutions worldwide. This article overviews the involvement of scientific authors, reviewers, editors, publishers, indexers, and learned associations in the citing and referencing to preserve the integrity of science communication. Authors are responsible for thorough bibliographic searches to select relevant references for their articles, comprehend main points, and cite them in an ethical way. Reviewers and editors may perform additional searches and recommend missing essential references. Publishers, in turn, are in a position to instruct their authors over the citations and references, provide tools for validation of references, and open access to bibliographies. Publicly available reference lists bear important information about the novelty and relatedness of the scholarly items with the published literature. Few editorial associations have dealt with the issue of citations and properly managed references. As a prime example, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) issued in December 2014 an updated set of recommendations on the need for citing primary literature and avoiding unethical references, which are applicable to the global scientific community. With the exponential growth of literature and related references, it is critically important to define functions of all stakeholders of science communication in curbing the issue of irrational and unethical citations and thereby improve the quality and indexability of scholarly journals.
Authorship/standards ; *Bibliography as Topic ; *Editorial Policies ; Information Dissemination/ethics ; Peer Review, Research/ethics/*standards ; Periodicals as Topic/ethics/*standards ; Publishing/ethics/*standards ; Quality Control ; Science/ethics/standards ; Writing/*standards

Child ; China ; Humans ; Pediatrics ; Periodicals as Topic ; standards ; statistics & numerical data ; Publishing ; standards ; statistics & numerical data ; Quality Control