Author-paper affiliation network architecture influences the methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of psoriasis

PLoS One. 2017 Apr 12;12(4):e0175419. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175419. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Moderate-to-severe psoriasis is associated with significant comorbidity, an impaired quality of life, and increased medical costs, including those associated with treatments. Systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) of randomized clinical trials are considered two of the best approaches to the summarization of high-quality evidence. However, methodological bias can reduce the validity of conclusions from these types of studies and subsequently impair the quality of decision making. As co-authorship is among the most well-documented forms of research collaboration, the present study aimed to explore whether authors' collaboration methods might influence the methodological quality of SRs and MAs of psoriasis. Methodological quality was assessed by two raters who extracted information from full articles. After calculating total and per-item Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) scores, reviews were classified as low (0-4), medium (5-8), or high (9-11) quality. Article metadata and journal-related bibliometric indices were also obtained. A total of 741 authors from 520 different institutions and 32 countries published 220 reviews that were classified as high (17.2%), moderate (55%), or low (27.7%) methodological quality. The high methodological quality subnetwork was larger but had a lower connection density than the low and moderate methodological quality subnetworks; specifically, the former contained relatively fewer nodes (authors and reviews), reviews by authors, and collaborators per author. Furthermore, the high methodological quality subnetwork was highly compartmentalized, with several modules representing few poorly interconnected communities. In conclusion, structural differences in author-paper affiliation network may influence the methodological quality of SRs and MAs on psoriasis. As the author-paper affiliation network structure affects study quality in this research field, authors who maintain an appropriate balance between scientific quality and productivity are more likely to develop higher quality reviews.

MeSH terms

  • Authorship*
  • Bias
  • Bibliometrics
  • Data Accuracy*
  • Humans
  • Meta-Analysis as Topic*
  • Psoriasis / therapy*
  • Review Literature as Topic*

Grants and funding

This work has been funded in part by project ICI1400136 to JR, integrated into the National Plan of R+D+I 2008-2011 and co-financed by the ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluación and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by grant PP13/009 of Plan Propio de movilidad para investigadores del Instituto Maimonides de Investigacion Biomédica de Cordoba (IMIBIC). No funding was received from any pharmaceutical company. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.