Abstract
Objective: Determine the incidence of unverifiable (or “ghost”) publications in applications to an otolaryngology residency program through the Electronic Residency Application Services and determine if this incidence changed after the addition of pubmed (PMID) numbers to the application.
Method: ERAS applications submitted in 2007 and 2008 to an academic otolaryngology residency program were reviewed. Publications were verified against Medline, PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and Google. Ghost publications were defined as journals, books, abstracts, or posters that could not be verified as presented, published or including the applicant author.
Results: A total of 546 applications were reviewed: 256 before PMID numbers were requested and 248 after. Of 1967 publications, 41% (821 of 1967) could not be verified: 706 out of 1156 (61%) abstracts/posters, 92 out of 774 (12%) journal articles, and 23 out of 37 (62%) chapters. An additional 281 (14%) listings were not actual publications. Overall, abstracts/posters and book chapters were hardest to verify. The overall proportion of publications that could be verified was unchanged after the addition of the PMID to the ERAS application (P = .67), and the proportion of verified journal articles decreased from 96% to 84% (P = .005). Positive predictors of ghost publications were age and foreign medical school.
Conclusion: A substantial number of publications, especially book chapters and posters/abstracts, listed on otolaryngology residency ERAS applications cannot be verified. The addition of the PMID to ERAS applications has not significantly reduced the number of ghost journal publications.
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