Does activity in research correlate with visibility?

Abstract

Background: A previous survey has highlighted the fact that most individuals in chemical pathology identifiable from specialist society membership failed to publish material in Medline cited journals during a five year period. It could be considered that published research that is not cited in other work is not useful unless it has achieved visibility, as demonstrated by citation in another research publication. Aims: To determine whether the frequency of research publication is associated with research visibility. Methods: A random selection from the previous survey was investigated to determine whether the frequency of research publication is associated with research visibility. Results: There was a logarithmic relation between the frequency of publication and visibility, with an increasing probability of citation as publication frequency increases. Conclusions: If academic activity is to survive then individuals must stay active in research; this requires a continuing commitment to a tradition of support for individuals at all stages of their careers engaging in research.