Objective: Thesis preparation constitutes an essential component of urology residency training in Türkiye and serves as an indicator of academic productivity. However, the actual academic impact of these theses depends on their conversion into peer-reviewed scientific publications. This study aimed to evaluate the academic outcomes of urology residency theses in Türkiye, including publication rates, indexing characteristics, and subspecialty distribution.
Materials and Methods: This retrospective bibliometric study analyzed all urology residency theses completed between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2020, obtained from the National Thesis Center of the Council of Higher Education of Türkiye. Each thesis was screened for subsequent publication in PubMed, Scopus, and TR-Index databases using author names, thesis titles, and relevant keywords. For published theses, the indexing status of the journals—Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), or TR-Index—was recorded. These were also categorized according to subspecialty area. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0, IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).
Results: A total of 399 urology theses were identified. Of these, 233 (58.4%) were published in peer-reviewed journals, while 166 (41.6%) remained unpublished. Among the published theses, 145 (36.3%) appeared in SCIE-indexed journals, 57 (14.3%) in ESCI, and 31 (7.8%) in TR-Index. The most frequent subspecialty areas were uro-oncology (36.1%), endourology (20.8%), and andrology (19.0%). An increasing trend toward publication in internationally indexed (SCIE/ESCI) journals was observed between 2015 and 2020.
Conclusion: More than half of the urology residency theses in Türkiye were published, and approximately one-third appeared in high-impact indexed journals. These findings reflect improvement in academic publication outcomes within urology residency training. Strengthening mentorship and structured research guidance could further enhance publication success.
Keywords: academic outcomes, publication rates, urology residency theses
Abstract
Objective: Thesis preparation constitutes an essential component of urology residency training in Türkiye and serves as an indicator of academic productivity. However, the actual academic impact of these theses depends on their conversion into peer-reviewed scientific publications. This study aimed to evaluate the academic outcomes of urology residency theses in Türkiye, including publication rates, indexing characteristics, and subspecialty distribution.
Materials and Methods: This retrospective bibliometric study analyzed all urology residency theses completed between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2020, obtained from the National Thesis Center of the Council of Higher Education of Türkiye. Each thesis was screened for subsequent publication in PubMed, Scopus, and TR-Index databases using author names, thesis titles, and relevant keywords. For published theses, the indexing status of the journals—Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), or TR-Index—was recorded. These were also categorized according to subspecialty area. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0, IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).
Results: A total of 399 urology theses were identified. Of these, 233 (58.4%) were published in peer-reviewed journals, while 166 (41.6%) remained unpublished. Among the published theses, 145 (36.3%) appeared in SCIE-indexed journals, 57 (14.3%) in ESCI, and 31 (7.8%) in TR-Index. The most frequent subspecialty areas were uro-oncology (36.1%), endourology (20.8%), and andrology (19.0%). An increasing trend toward publication in internationally indexed (SCIE/ESCI) journals was observed between 2015 and 2020.
Conclusion: More than half of the urology residency theses in Türkiye were published, and approximately one-third appeared in high-impact indexed journals. These findings reflect improvement in academic publication outcomes within urology residency training. Strengthening mentorship and structured research guidance could further enhance publication success.
Keywords: academic outcomes, publication rates, urology residency theses