Bibliometric analysis of the scientific production in the area of Optometry

Abstract Objective Using a bibliometric approach an analysis was made of the scientific publications of Spanish investigators in the area of optometry, from 1974 until 2013. Methods The EMBASE database was used for this study, employing optomtr*, optic*, visual, vision, eye*, and ophthalm* as search terms. The most common bibliometric indicators were applied for the selected publications. Results The number of published articles retrieved for Spain from 1974 to 2013 was 1,055. The growth of publications was more exponential ( R  = 0.93) than linear ( R  = 0.71). The doubling time of scientific production was 3.63 years. The level of productivity primarily corresponded to small producers (transience index of 64%). The collaboration index was 4.4 authors per paper. The majority of the output was generated in academic settings (62.27%). The Bradford core was formed by four journals, in which Optometry and Vision Science accounted for the majority of publications, with 11.85%. Conclusions Research in the area of optometry in Spain is in a phase of exponential growth, containing a high level of transient authors, which may indicate either a low productivity or the presence of investigators from other related fields that have published in a sporadic manner in this area. A small number of research groups are responsible for producing the majority of articles, primarily in an academic setting. There is a high concentration of publications in a few journals.