Evaluation of New Zealand's Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, and Medical Imaging Research Output: A Bibliometric-Based Approach.

Abstract

Introduction: The use of medical imaging services has increased globally with a concurrent increase in radiology, nuclear medicine and medical imaging (RNMI) research. However, New Zealand's RNMI research output relative to global trends is under-examined. This project evaluates New Zealand's RNMI research output between 1996 and 2022 compared to selected countries while highlighting global RNMI research output trends.

Methods: A bibliometric-based performance analysis was conducted using publication data from the SCImago Journal, the Country Rank portal, Clarivate InCites Benchmarking, and the Analytics platform. Registration data of RNMI professionals by country was collected to evaluate the relationship between research output and the number of registered professionals.

Results: Among the seven selected countries (the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa), New Zealand's research output was low, even when adjusted for population size and the number of professionals. A significant positive correlation was found between the number of registered RNMI professionals and the number of RNMI publications. Despite this, New Zealand had the highest percentage of RNMI documents cited.

Conclusion: Although New Zealand's RNMI publications follow the global upward trend, it does so at a proportionate loss. New Zealand ranked low in most bibliometric indicators apart from the percentage of documents cited, where it showed a notable citation impact. Emphasising research, increasing collaborative efforts, and undertaking further statistical analyses may enhance New Zealand's RNMI research output.