Selection and Evaluation of Core Journals Based on Bradford’s Law

―Targeting Articles Related to Respiratory Infectious Diseases―

Abstract

Objective: Exhaustive search is the basis for meta-analysis and evidence based medicine (EBM). The validity of searches can be confirmed by evaluating the core journals included in the search results. Core journals also exert significant influence because they serve as the hub of each discipline. However, the qualitative relationship between core journals and published articles has not been fully evaluated; therefore, core journals were selected for clinical articles on respiratory infectious diseases and were evaluated for their quality.

Methods: We searched PubMed for clinical articles in three areas: drugs for respiratory infections, drug resistance, and vaccines. The core journals were selected based on Bradford’s Law. The quality of the selected articles was further assessed using the double-blind and randomized controlled trial (RCT) methods.

Results: The Bradford curve that was created displayed a high R² accuracy of 0.9971, 0.9981, and 0.9953 at the linear portion. Evaluation of the research quality of selected core journals revealed a statistically high quality in the field of respiratory infections and vaccines; however, no statistically significant difference was observed in the field of resistant bacteria.

Conclusion: With exceptions in some areas, the quality of publications tended to be higher when core journals were selected based on Bradford’s Law. Different evaluation methods are required for fields unsuitable for randomization or blinding. In the future, it will be vital to consider evaluation methods for core journals according to the characteristics of the studies.