Scientific Research Output of Faculty Members of Guilan University of Medical Sciences using the Hirsch Index (h Index) and m Parameter by the End of 2012

One of the most important methods for the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the research output of the scholars, research centers and academic units is through the Hirsch index (h index) and m parameter. The indices are used to determine the efficiency, significance and rank of a team of researchers including those in the department, college, university or elsewhere across the nation. To evaluate the research output of the faculty members of Guilan University of Medical Sciences using the Hirsch index and m parameter. The present survey is descriptive and conducted on the population consisting of all faculty members of Guilan University of Medical Sciences (355 scholars), according to 1391 (2012) census. The main data including the Hirsch index and scientific age were retrieved from Scopus and the m parameter was calculated for each individual. Data analysis was carried out using software SPSS (version 17.0). For the studied population, the overall mean of the Hirsch index and m parameter were 0.59 and 0.09, respectively. The faculty members of School of Health showed the highest mean Hirsch index 0.91 and the highest mean m parameter 0.15 among the schools. The means of Hirsch index for full professor, associate professor, assistant professor and lecturer were 3.71, 1.52, 0.51, and 0.04, respectively, and 0.42 0.24, 0.09 and 0.01, for the m parameter. Department of Social Medicine showed the highest mean Hirsch index of 2.50 among the departments of School of Medicine. The highest absolute Hirsch index of 10 belonged to a faculty member of Department of Internal Medicine at the School of Medicine. The highest absolute m parameter was calculated to be 1.00 for a faculty member of Department of Urology at the School of Medicine. Based on the Hirsch index, significant differences were observed among the ranks of faculty members, the schools, and the departments of the School of Medicine (P<0.05). There was no significant difference among the faculty members in terms of gender and subject area (clinical and basic) (P>0.05). The average research output of faculty members of Guilan University of Medical Sciences based on the Hirsch index and m parameter, in comparison with the available domestic and international investigations, is at a lower level either in quantitative or qualitative (citations). Some suggestions for the improvement of these indices are presented.