Analysis of the Contributions of Original Articles in Major Dermatology Journals in Korea

Cho, Hyun Min; Ahn, Hyo Hyun

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The Korean Journal of Dermatology and the Annals of Dermatology are representative journals of dermatology in Korea. Evaluation of their content, authors and affiliations are valuable for our understanding of the situation, trends and interests of the Korean dermatologic society.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the original contributions in the major dermatology journals of Korea, and compare these with those of renowned international dermatology journals in terms of original contribution.
METHODS
A total of 318 original articles from the last 3 volumes of the Korean Journal of Dermatology (2003, vol. 41 to 2005, vol. 43) were collected and analyzed for their characteristic features, such as categories, authors, and affiliations. We also compared these characteristic features with those of 18 original articles from the last 3 volumes of Annals of Dermatology (2003, vol. 15 to 2005, vol. 17), an English dermatologic journal in Korea.
RESULTS
Thirty-two percent of original articles fell into the category of drug evaluation and clinical research, followed by laboratory and experimental research. Most articles had three to six co-authors (78%), and one (55.3%) or two (31.1%) affiliations. The number of articles by a specific corresponding author ranged from one to eight, and the majority of articles by a specific corresponding author were one (43.6%) during 3 years. These situations were similar with those of the Annals of Dermatology. The evaluation of the Korean Journal of Dermatology about charateristics of original articles showed a small number of original articles by a corresponding author and cooperative researches with other afilliations. The main subjects of articles were centralized to 3 major categories in the Korean Journal of Dermatology, whereas the other famous international journals showed a relatively uniform distribution.
CONCLUSION
The participation of non-dermatologists was fewer in the Korean journals than the other famous international journals. The Korean dermatologic society should make an effort to involve the specialists of other fields in submitting excellent original articles to the Korean Journal of Dermatology. And for the academic position of the Korean dermatologic society, we should make an effort to register one of our journals to the SCI (science citation index). The Korean Journal of Dermatology should deal with more varied articles from new categories for a more uniform distribution of themes. It should also make more effort to improve the Korean Journal of Dermatology.