THE ONE FIXED POINT IN A CHANGING AGE. AN ANALYSIS OF HALF-SECULAR TRENDS AMONG ORIGINAL PAPERS PUBLISHED IN THE LANCET 1945-95

Abstract

We performed a systematic survey of original papers published in The Lancet throughout the years 1945, 1946, 1970 and 1995.

The Lancet was chosen due to a conservative layout through these years, and the year 1946 added to the analysis to ponder for any war-induced bias. The general layout and structure of the journal were indeed maintained throughout these years. The number of authors per paper increased steadily (from 1.7±1.3 in 1945 to 6.4±3.4 in 1995), as well as the number of papers written on behalf of investigation groups (from 1 in 1945 to 37 in 1995). Major changes were observed in the area of origin of the papers, from an overwhelming British Isles’ preponderance (87% of papers published in 1945) to a partake with Continental Europe, America and international groups (27, 33, 15 and 12%, respectively of the 1995 papers). The most often addressed fi elds of medicine shifted from war-, surgery- and microbiologyrelated subjects in 1945 towards cardiology-, oncology-, and virus-related works in 1995. The most impressive and enduring change was the increase in the use of statistical tools for data analysis and presentation (0.3% of papers in 1945 vs. 60% in 1995).

As one of the leading medical journals with a maintained layout over the last decades, The Lancet refl ects changes in medical thinking and publishing. Multiauthorship, internationalisation of research, and (over) confi dence into statistical analysis are becoming leading characteristics, some rather positive others not, of the corporate feeling within medical edition.

Keywords:

• medical literature
• history of medicine
• editorial policy