Clinical research in otolaryngology journals.

In an era of cost-effectiveness and quality control, the need for sound clinical research as a basis for health care decisions has intensified. To identify trends in clinical research, a survey of 1831 articles in four otolaryngology journals spanning a 20-year period was performed. Clinical research comprised 77% of all articles and has steadily increased in volume. Significant trends have occurred toward multiple authorship, more female first authors, and a declining proportion of articles with grant support. In 1989, a total of 224 articles (40%) employed analytic or experimental study designs vs only 64 articles (18%) in 1969. Descriptive studies and review articles have declined in prevalence. These findings suggest that over the past two decades, clinical research in otolaryngology journals has increased in both quantity and quality.