The world’s contribution to the field of urology in 2015: A bibliometric study

OBJECTIVE: To explore factors associated with a successful research atmosphere by investigating the distribution of articles published in the field of urology in 2015 amongst different world regions, as research is undoubtedly a valuable tool that can help shape the future of human health. METHODS: The Scopus® database was searched for publications made by Urology journals enlisted in the SCImago journal and country rank website. Details about each article type, language, and country of origin were collected. Journals’ bibliometric measures, as well as their country of origin and the number publications since the year 1996 were also collected. Countries were divided according to the United Nations geoscheme. RESULTS: In all, 80 of 93 registered Urology journals publishing a total of 10,181 articles were included in the study. Results reveal that the highest contribution came from North America (37.4%) followed by Europe (29.4%), Asia (26.5%), South America (2.2%), Africa (1.9%), and Oceania (1.7%). Bibliometric analysis of the published articles showed significantly higher impact measures amongst North American publications, followed by those from Europe, Oceania, South America, Asia, and Africa (P < 0.001). A slight drop in the number of publications was noted in 2015. Finally, a statistically significant regional correlation was detected between the corresponding authors’ affiliation and the journals’ publishing region (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: North America had the highest contribution to the field of urology in 2015. A significant correlation exists between the origin of the published article and the publishing journal’s region.