Academic Impact of a Public Electronic Health Database: Bibliometric Analysis of Studies Using the General Practice Research Database
2011

Impact of the General Practice Research Database on Academic Research

Sample size: 749 publication Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Chen Yu-Chun, Wu Jau-Ching, Haschler Ingo, Majeed Azeem, Chen Tzeng-Ji, Wetter Thomas

Primary Institution: Heidelberg University

Hypothesis

How does the General Practice Research Database (GPRD) influence scientific production and academic impact?

Conclusion

The GPRD significantly promotes scientific production and should be made more accessible for research.

Supporting Evidence

  • The GPRD was used in 749 studies published in 193 journals across 58 study fields.
  • Each GPRD study was cited an average of 2.7 times by subsequent studies.
  • One-third of GPRD studies were internationally co-authored.

Takeaway

The General Practice Research Database helps researchers by providing a lot of health information, which makes it easier to study health issues.

Methodology

The study analyzed 749 GPRD studies published from 1995 to 2009, focusing on publication growth, co-authorship patterns, and academic impact.

Limitations

The analysis is based on historical data and only includes studies indexed in the SCI, potentially underestimating the overall scientific output.

Participant Demographics

The studies involved 1251 authors from 22 countries.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pone.0021404

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