H index, journal citation indicator, and other impact factors in neurosurgical publications -: Is there a ‘cost factor’ that determines the quality?

Structured Abstract Objective There has been an increase in number of Neurosurgical publications including open access approach over the recent years. We aim to compare the Journal’s performance and its relationship to the submission fee incurred in publication. We have performed an in-depth analysis of various Neurosurgical journals’ performance in terms of the bibliometrics and have attempted to determine if there is any impact of the cost incurred to the quality of Journal’s output. Methods We identified 53 journals issuing neurosurgical-related work. Quantitative analysis from various search engines involved obtaining H indices, journal citations indicators, and other journal’s metrics such as immediacy index and 5-year impact factor utilising Journal Citation Reports from Clarivate software. Open access fees, coloured print costs, and individual subscription fees were collected. Correlations were produced using Spearmen Rho (ρ), p0.7, p < .05). There is a moderate positive correlation between the H index and JCI (ρ= 0.399, p = 0.004). It is unclear whether there is any correlation between the indices and the OA costs and subscription costs for personal usage respectively (p > 0.05). Conclusions Our analysis indicates that larger costs incurred for open access fees and subscription costs for personal use are not clearly reflected upon the journals’ performance and this is quantified by utilising various indices. There appears to be a strong association within performance across the journals’ metrics. It would be beneficial to include learning about the bibliometric indices’ impact for research publications in the medical education training to maximise the quality of the scientific work produced and increase the visibility of the information produced. The potential full movement to OA exclusive journals would form a significant barrier for junior researchers, small institutions, or full time-trainee doctors with limited funding available. This study suggests the need for a robust measurement of the journals’ output and the quality of the work produced.