Publication misrepresentation among otolaryngology residency applicants.

OBJECTIVE To assess the extent of research publication misrepresentation among otolaryngology residency applicants and to determine applicant attributes associated with misrepresentation. STUDY DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING A single otolaryngology residency program. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) applications to the incoming 2010 class of an otolaryngology residency program were reviewed for peer-reviewed journal publications reported as "provisionally accepted," "accepted," or "in print." Publications were verified by searching PubMed, Google Scholar, and electronic journals. Applicants with remaining unverified publications were e-mailed before announcing interviews. Erroneously reported or unverifiable publications were considered misrepresented. RESULTS There were 432 publications reported by 173 of 325 applicants (53.2%). Twenty-two publications (5.1%) were misrepresented by 17 applicants (9.8%). Contacting applicants verified 26 publications and identified 10 errors. Seven publications were inappropriately reported as provisionally accepted, three articles were not peer-reviewed, and applicants were erroneously listed as first author on two publications. Ten publications remained unverifiable. Multivariate logistic regression models showed that being an international medical graduate (P = 0.002) and male gender (P = 0.040) were predictors of misrepresentation after adjusting for potential confounders. Among international medical graduates alone, no attributes were associated with misrepresentation. All U.S. applicants with misrepresented publications were male (P = 0.033) and were from a medical school not ranked in the top 50 by U.S. News & World Report for research (P = 0.002) or primary care (P = 0.018). CONCLUSION Misrepresentation of research experience exists among otolaryngology residency applicants. ERAS should develop standardized definitions for publication statuses to help reduce inadvertent misrepresentation.