Medical papers published by four military medical universities: a measurement analysis

Objective: To investigate the difference in quantity of the medical papers published by the four military medical universities and some famous civil medical universities and to provide information to policymakers. Methods: According to CBMdisc (Chinese Biological Medical Disc) from 1995 to October 2002, the method of Bibliometrics was used to analyze the quantity of the target papers. Results; (1) The total number of papers published by the four military medical universities was 61 203, they had a tendency of increase year by year with a highest peak in 2000 and 2001. (2) Among the four military medical universities, the total number of papers published by the Fourth Military Medical University was 18 077 and won first place. The number of papers published on Zhonghua and Zhongguo series (core journals) by the Second Military Medical University was 5 352 and won first place in numbers. (3) Comparing with some famous civil medical universities, the total number of papers published by the Fourth Military Medial University was the first one, but the number of papers published on the core journals was the seventh one. The number of papers published by Peking Union Medical College on the core journals was the first one and the total number of papers published was the seventh, showing a bipolar status. The total number of papers published by the other three military medical universities was at medium level. Conclusion: The situation of the papers published by the military medical universities is promising, showing an increasing status year by year, but there are some differences among them. Comparing with the famous civil medical universities, the four military medical universities have some superiority, but the quantity of the papers published on the core journals is relatively lower. So they should bring their total superiority and own characteristics into play in order to improve the quality of their papers.