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Journal of Medical Ethics
H-index 27

Journal of Medical Ethics

0306-6800

Published by: BMJ Publishing Group

https://jme.bmj.com/

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Social Sciences and Humanities 55 58 129 23

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 127
Documents by Best Scientists*: 182
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 6
SCIMAGO H-index: 93
SCIMAGO SJR: 0.98
Impact Factor: 3.4

Overview

Top Research Topics at Journal of Medical Ethics?

Journal of Medical Ethics mainly deals with areas of study such as Law, Medical ethics, Social psychology, Informed consent and Health care. The journal explores issues in Law which can be linked to other research areas like Epistemology and Argument. Discussions in Journal of Medical Ethics are anchored in the subject of Argument and the similar topic of Law and economics.

While work presented in the journal provided substantial information on Medical ethics, it also covered topics in Nursing ethics, Engineering ethics and Medical education. The featured Engineering ethics studies mainly concentrate on Data science but also cover areas of interest in World Wide Web. While the journal focused on Informed consent, it was also able to explore topics like Psychiatry, Research ethics and Family medicine.

Psychiatry and Alternative medicine are closely related fields of research discussed in the journal. The study on Research ethics presented is investigated in conjunction with research in Clinical trial. Some problems in Health care that were presented in it overlapped with concepts under Nursing and Public relations.

  • Law (25.62%)
  • Medical ethics (11.56%)
  • Social psychology (11.05%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Quality of life in cancer patients--an hypothesis. (892 citations)
  • Principles of Biomedical Ethics, 5th edn. (404 citations)
  • Some limits of informed consent (362 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Journal of Medical Ethics:

The journal articles primarily tackle Law, Informed consent, Social psychology, Family medicine and Health care. The most cited papers address concerns in the field of Informed consent by exploring it in line with topics in Research ethics which intersect with Public relations subjects. The studies on Social psychology discussed at the journal publications can also contribute to research in the domains of Autonomy and Context (language use).

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Law
  • Internal medicine
  • World War II

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

Journal of Medical Ethics investigates studies in Health care, Argument, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Autonomy and Public relations. It focuses on Health care but the discussions also offer insight into other areas such as Context (language use), Resource allocation, Distributive justice and Triage. Journal of Medical Ethics explores research in Argument alongside concepts in Law and economics and other areas of study in Public policy.

The studies on Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) discussed can also contribute to research in the domains of Vaccination and 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak. The concepts on Autonomy presented in the journal can also apply to other research fields, including Harm and Informed consent. The research on Public relations featured in Journal of Medical Ethics combines topics in other fields like Research ethics and Value (ethics).

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Good reasons to vaccinate: mandatory or payment for risk? (32 citations)
  • Who is afraid of black box algorithms? On the epistemological and ethical basis of trust in medical AI (13 citations)
  • Nothing to be ashamed of: sex robots for older adults with disabilities. (12 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in Journal of Medical Ethics (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Julian Savulescu (93 papers) published 7 papers at the last edition, 2 less than at the previous edition,
  • Raanan Gillon (72 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • John Harris (53 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
  • Søren Holm (42 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 2 less than at the previous edition,
  • Dominic Wilkinson (39 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 4 less than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Journal of Medical Ethics (based on the number of publications) are:

  • University of Oxford (176 papers) published 29 papers at the last edition, 3 less than at the previous edition,
  • University of Manchester (108 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 5 less than at the previous edition,
  • Harvard University (68 papers) published 8 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
  • University of Otago (66 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 5 less than at the previous edition,
  • University of Melbourne (66 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 4 less than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 7.88% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 20.94% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 10.32% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 20.94% of all publications and 47.79% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Clinical Applications and Practical Implications

The academic discourse and research studies featured in the Journal of Medical Ethics not only contribute to the broad field of ethical, legal, and social implications in healthcare but also offer vital practical applications for professionals. Especially for those in counseling and similar fields, understanding the latest ethical guidelines and insights in healthcare can shape their practice substantially.

For instance, understanding the nuances of informed consent in different scenarios, as discussed prominently in the journal, can help counselors navigate ethical dilemmas in real-life settings. Another example is the multi-disciplinary perspectives on topics like Social psychology and Health care, which can broaden a counselor's comprehension of patient wellbeing and provide holistic support.

If you are a professional looking to navigate these complexities in your field, it may be beneficial to become a licensed counselor. In particular, for those located in Washington, you can check out our guide on Getting counseling license in Washington for a comprehensive understanding of the process.

Overall, the research from the Journal of Medical Ethics implores professionals to adopt a stance of continuous learning, incorporating ethical considerations in their day-to-day work and committing to promoting the highest standards of healthcare provision.

Top Publications

  • Ethics of instantaneous contact tracing using mobile phone apps in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Michael J Parker;Christophe Fraser;Lucie Abeler-Dörner;David Bonsall

    (2020)
    233 Citations
  • Good reasons to vaccinate: mandatory or payment for risk?

    Julian Savulescu

    (2021)
    176 Citations
  • Passport to freedom? Immunity passports for COVID-19.

    Rebecca C H Brown;Julian Savulescu;Bridget Williams;Dominic Wilkinson

    (2020)
    95 Citations
  • Ethics of research at the intersection of COVID-19 and black lives matter: a call to action.

    Natasha Crooks;Geri Donenberg;Alicia Matthews

    (2021)
    69 Citations
  • COVID-19 vaccine boosters for young adults: a risk benefit assessment and ethical analysis of mandate policies at universities

    (2022)
    68 Citations
  • Patients, clinicians and open notes: information blocking as a case of epistemic injustice.

    Charlotte Blease;Liz Salmi;Hanife Rexhepi;Maria Hägglund

    (2021)
    54 Citations
  • The unnaturalistic fallacy: COVID-19 vaccine mandates should not discriminate against natural immunity

    (2022)
    52 Citations
  • Vaccine mandates for healthcare workers beyond COVID-19

    (2022)
    51 Citations
  • ‘Climate change mitigation is a hot topic, but not when it comes to hospitals’: a qualitative study on hospital stakeholders’ perception and sense of responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions

    (2022)
    50 Citations
  • Why lockdown of the elderly is not ageist and why levelling down equality is wrong.

    Julian Savulescu;James Cameron

    (2020)
    50 Citations

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Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal