Evaluation of scientific output in Dentistry in Spanish Universities

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to assess the scientific output of Spanish universities that offer a bachelor's degree in dentistry through the use of various bibliometric indicators. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 21 universities offered a bachelor's degree in dentistry in academic year 2016-2017. The search for papers published by authors associated with these institutions was carried out using the selection of journals listed in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) and the Web of Knowledge database for the period 1986-2017. On the basis of these data, we determined the output, the h-, g- and hg-indexes, the most productive authors, international collaborations, and the most relevant journals. RESULTS Public universities obtained better results than private universities. The University of Valencia was ranked first, followed by the Complutense University of Madrid and the University of Granada. The most productive author was José Vicente Bagán, but the author with the highest h-index was Mariano Sanz and Manuel Toledado. The universities with the greatest output and highest citation rates had more international collaborations. The most developed fields in Spanish universities were Oral surgery, Oral medicine and Dental materials. The universities had different models of production. At universities such as Barcelona or Valencia, the production was focused on very few departments and authors. At the other extreme, the University of Granada had various sources of research and authors, which meant that its output and citation rate could increase more. CONCLUSIONS University faculties must provide suitable academic and research training, and therefore must be assessed using objective criteria and bibliometric tools. Although the number of university schools and faculties that teach dentistry has increased, and particularly the number of private universities, there is no correlation between their quality and output and the number of places offered on their courses.