Research evaluation and competition for academic positions in occupational medicine

Citation analysis is widely used to evaluate the performance of individual researchers, journals, and universities. Its outcome plays a crucial role in the decision-making process of ranking applicants for an academic position. A number of indicators, including the h-index reflecting both scientific productivity and its relevance in medical fields, are available through the Web of Knowledge sm and Scopus®. In the field of occupational medicine, the adoption of the h-index in assessing the value of core journals shows some advantages compared with traditional bibliometrics and may encourage researchers to submit their papers. Although evaluation of the overall individual performance for academic positions should assess several aspects, scientific performance is usually based on citation analysis indicators. Younger researchers should be aware of the new approach based on transparent threshold rules for career promotion and need to understand the new evaluation systems based on metrics.