Trends in Articles Published Over the Past 20 Years in The Journal of Chiropractic Education: Country of Origin, Academic Affiliation, and Data Versus Nondata Studies

Abstract

Purpose: To review trends in articles published during the first 20 years of The Journal of Chiropractic Education (JCE), which is the primary periodical that publishes chiropractic educational research. This study focused on article type, country of origin, contributions by institutions, use of references, and use of structured abstracts. Methods: All volumes of the JCE were retrieved (1987–2006). Only full articles were included in this study; abstracts from proceedings and ephemera were excluded from this analysis. Articles that presented no data (eg, commentary, narrative descriptions) were classified as nondata articles. Articles that reported data (eg, experimental studies, survey research, etc) were classified as data articles. Each article was reviewed by hand for the type of study (data vs nondata), geographic region of origin, college of origin, use of references, and the presence of a structured or unstructured abstract. Results: After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 153 papers were assessed. Published articles came from 5 countries and represented 23 chiropractic colleges. A majority (80.2%) of papers were from the United States. Of all articles, 101 articles (66%) were nondata in nature. Consistent use of references and structured abstracts increased over time. Conclusion: During its first 20 years, the JCE has published more nondata than data studies and the number of data papers published per year has remained constant. The journal has reached a consistent level of quality in its publication of manuscripts containing structured abstracts and references, and articles have been authored primarily by US authors. It is recommended that more efforts and resources are dedicated to data-driven studies and that greater geographic diversity is obtained to better represent the worldwide distribution of the chiropractic profession's educational institutions.