Abstract
Objective: Periodontology postgraduate education in Turkiye is provided through doctoral (Ph.D.) and specialty programs, both requiring the completion of a thesis. Publication and citation of thesis-derived research are recognized indicators of academic quality, yet limited data compare these programs within the same timeframe. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the quality of Ph.D. and specialty theses completed between 2015 and 2019, based on publication rates and citation performances.
Materials and Methods: A total of 299 theses (119 Ph.D., 180 specialty) archived in the National Thesis Center were examined. Thesis characteristics (year, author gender, supervisor’s academic title, study design, topic, follow-up period, and evaluated parameters) were recorded. Publication status, indexing category, journal quartile, and citation counts were determined.
Results: The overall publication rate was 50.8%, with no significant difference between Ph.D. (54.6%) and specialty theses (48.3%) (p=0.287). Among published theses, 70.8% of Ph.D. and 62.1% of specialty theses appeared in Science Citation Index (SCI)/SCI-Expanded journals. Citation performance, including cited publications, total citations, and mean citation rates, was also similar (p>0.05 for all). Demographic and descriptive parameters, such as supervisor’s academic title, study design, topic, and follow-up period did not influence publication and citation status.
Conclusion: Ph.D. and specialty theses in periodontology completed between 2015 and 2019 demonstrated comparable publication rates and citation performances, suggesting that specialty theses are non-inferiority to Ph.D. theses. Strengthening the dissemination of thesis-derived publications will enhance scientific visibility and support the dual mission of postgraduate periodontology training by advancing clinical expertise and fostering academic scholarship.
Ethical Statement
This research involved no human participants or animal subjects, and all data were obtained from a publicly accessible database; therefore, ethics approval was not required.
Thanks
The author thanks to Prof. Dr. Abdullah C. AKMAN for his contributions and support.
References
- 1. Derneği TrP. TUKMOS Periodontoloji çekirdek müfredatı 2022 [cited 2025 Sep 1, 2025]. Available from: https://turkperio.org/tukmos-periodontoloji-cekirdek-mufredati.
- 2. University H. Periodontology doctorate programme [Sep 8, 2025]. Available from: https://akts.hacettepe.edu.tr/program_detay.php?prg_oid=PRGRAM_0000000000000000000010260&birim_kod=2094&programduzey=5&submenuheader=2&durum=&prg_kod=20941&dil_kod=2.
- 3. Ferhatoğlu MF, Kıvılcım T, Kartal A, Filiz A, Kebudi A. An analysis of general surgery theses set up between years 1998-2018 in Turkey: evidence levels and publication rates of 1996 theses. Turk J Surg 2020;36(1):9-14.
- 4. Nieminen P, Sipilä K, Takkinen HM, Renko M, Risteli L. Medical theses as part of the scientific training in basic medical and dental education: experiences from Finland. BMC Med Educ 2007;7:51.
- 5. Horta H, Santos JM. The impact of publishing during PhD studies on career research publication, visibility, and collaborations. Res High Educ 2016;57(1):28-50.
- 6. Salmi LR, Gana S, Mouillet E. Publication pattern of medical theses, France, 1993-98. Med Educ 2001;35(1):18-21.
- 7. Yaman H, Atay E. PhD theses in Turkish sports sciences: a study covering the years 1988–2002. Scientometrics 2007;71(3):415-421.
- 8. Kaya E, Üçer H, Edoğan ÖE. Türkiye'de halk sağlığı alanındaki uzmanlık tezlerinin bilimsel yayına dönüştürülme oranlarının değerlendirilmesi. ESTUDAM Public Health Journal 2020;5(3):410-417.
- 9. Sipahi H, Durusoy R, Ergin I, Hassoy H, Davas A, Karababa A. Publication rates of public health theses in international and national peer-review journals in Turkey. Iran J Public Health 2012;41(9):31.
- 10. Pop AI, Florea M, Mirel S, Lotrean LM. Assessment of productivity and quality of publications derived from doctoral theses and the scientific performance of graduates at a Romanian Medical and Pharmacy University. Cureus 2025;17(6):e86947.
- 11. Muniz F, Celeste RK, Oballe HJR, Rösing CK. Citation analysis and trends in review articles in dentistry. J Evid Based Dent Pract 2018;18(2):110-118.
- 12. Giordano G, Misuraca M, Restaino M. Evaluating the speed of citation in scientific journals: a survival analysis-based approach. Journal of Informetrics 2025;19(3):101714.
- 13. Özkalaycı N, Yolcu İ, Töz M, Çiçek O. 2016-2020 yılları arasında yazılmış ortodonti uzmanlık ve doktora tezlerinin yayınlanma oranlarının incelenmesi. Yükseköğretim ve Bilim Dergisi 2022;12(2):351-357.
- 14. Meriç P, Kılınç DD. Thesis trends in postgraduate orthodontic education in Turkey between 2017-2021: a pilot study. Int Arc Dent Sci 2022;43(3):197-203.
- 15. Güler Ç, Alper ES. Türkiye’de pedodonti (çocuk diş hekimliği) lisansüstü eğitiminde tamamlanan tezlerin incelenmesi: metodolojik bir çalışma. Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi 2024;33(2):257-263.
- 16. Öztürk AB, Çelikel P. Evaluation of Pediatric dentistry postgraduate education in Turkey by specialty and PhD students. Selcuk Dent J 11(3):293-298.
- 17. Karayürek F, Altindal D, Karayürek E, Gülses A. An analysis of periodontology theses in Türkiye: Ph.D. vs. specialization program. BMC Med Educ 2025;25(1):425.
- 18. Huang W, Wang P, Wu Q. A correlation comparison between altmetric attention scores and citations for six PLOS journals. PLoS One 2018;13(4):e0194962.
- 19. Garfield E. Citation indexes for science. A new dimension in documentation through association of ideas. 1955. Int J Epidemiol 2006;35(5):1123-1127; discussion 7-8.
- 20. Yılmaz B, Mutlu Arı P, Ayçiçek HB, Yardımcı G. Comprehensive analysis of publication of physical medicine and rehabilitation theses in Türkiye between years 2010 and 2020: Academic productivity and related factors. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil 2024;70(2):233-240.
- 21. Wahid N, Warraich NF, Tahira M. Factors influencing scholarly publication productivity: a systematic review. Inform Discovery Delivery 2022;50(1):22-33.
- 22. Büyük SK, Türken R, Akarsu S. A content analysis and evaluation of outcomes of specialty theses in dentistry. J Health Sci Med 2020;4(4):412-415.
- 23. Birkle C, Pendlebury DA, Schnell J, Adams J. Web of Science as a data source for research on scientific and scholarly activity. Quant Sci Stud 2020;1(1):363-376.
- 24. Tasdemir T, Tassoker M. Bibliometric analysis of Turkey-affiliated international publications in pediatric dentistry using RStudio package: a cross-sectional research. Cumhuriyet Dent J 2025;28(2):199-209.
Abstract
Amaç: Türkiye'de periodontoloji alanında lisansüstü eğitim doktora ve uzmanlık programları ile yürütülmekte olup, her iki programda tez çalışması tamamlanması zorunludur. Tez çalışmalarının yayına dönüşmesi ve bu yayınların atıf alması akademik kalitenin kabul görmüş göstergeleridir, ancak bu programları aynı zaman dilimi içerisinde karşılaştıran sınırlı veri bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmada 2015-2019 yılları arasında tamamlanan doktora ve uzmanlık tezlerinin yayın oranları ve atıf performansları karşılaştırılarak tez kalitelerinin değerlendirilmesi ve amaçlanmıştır.
Gereç ve Yöntemler: Yükseköğretim Kurumu Ulusal Tez Merkezi'nde arşivlenen toplam 299 tez (119 doktora, 180 uzmanlık) incelenmiştir. Tez özellikleri (yıl, yazarın cinsiyeti, danışmanın akademik ünvanı, çalışma tasarımı, konu, takip süresi ve değerlendirilen parametreler) kaydedilmiştir. Yayın durumu, indeksleme kategorisi, dergi çeyrekliği ve atıf sayıları belirlenmiştir.
Bulgular: Genel yayın oranı %50,8 olarak bulunmuş olup, doktora (%54,6) ve uzmanlık (%48,3) tezleri arasında istatistiksel anlamlı bir fark bulunmamıştır (p=0,287). Yayınlanan doktora tezlerinin %70,8'i, uzmanlık tezlerinin ise %62,1'i Science Citation Index (SCI)/SCI-Expanded kapsamındaki dergilerde yayımlanmıştır. Atıf performansı (atıf yapılan yayın sayısı, toplam atıf sayısı ve ortalama atıf oranları) her iki grup arasında benzer bulunmuştur (p>0,05). Danışmanın unvanı, çalışma tasarımı, konu ve takip süresi gibi demografik ve tanımlayıcı parametrelerin yayın ve atıf üzerinde etkili olmadığı belirlenmiştir.
Sonuç: 2015-2019 yılları arasında tamamlanan periodontoloji alanındaki doktora ve uzmanlık tezleri benzer yayın oranları ve atıf performansları göstermiştir. Bu bulgular, uzmanlık tezlerinin doktora tezlerine kıyasla kalite açısından aşağı kalmadığını ortaya koymaktadır. Tezlerden üretilen yayınların arttırılması bilimsel görünürlüğü güçlendirerek hem klinik uzmanlık gelişimini hem de akademik üretkenliği destekleyerek lisansüstü periodontoloji eğitiminin ikili misyonunu pekiştirecektir.
References
- 1. Derneği TrP. TUKMOS Periodontoloji çekirdek müfredatı 2022 [cited 2025 Sep 1, 2025]. Available from: https://turkperio.org/tukmos-periodontoloji-cekirdek-mufredati.
- 2. University H. Periodontology doctorate programme [Sep 8, 2025]. Available from: https://akts.hacettepe.edu.tr/program_detay.php?prg_oid=PRGRAM_0000000000000000000010260&birim_kod=2094&programduzey=5&submenuheader=2&durum=&prg_kod=20941&dil_kod=2.
- 3. Ferhatoğlu MF, Kıvılcım T, Kartal A, Filiz A, Kebudi A. An analysis of general surgery theses set up between years 1998-2018 in Turkey: evidence levels and publication rates of 1996 theses. Turk J Surg 2020;36(1):9-14.
- 4. Nieminen P, Sipilä K, Takkinen HM, Renko M, Risteli L. Medical theses as part of the scientific training in basic medical and dental education: experiences from Finland. BMC Med Educ 2007;7:51.
- 5. Horta H, Santos JM. The impact of publishing during PhD studies on career research publication, visibility, and collaborations. Res High Educ 2016;57(1):28-50.
- 6. Salmi LR, Gana S, Mouillet E. Publication pattern of medical theses, France, 1993-98. Med Educ 2001;35(1):18-21.
- 7. Yaman H, Atay E. PhD theses in Turkish sports sciences: a study covering the years 1988–2002. Scientometrics 2007;71(3):415-421.
- 8. Kaya E, Üçer H, Edoğan ÖE. Türkiye'de halk sağlığı alanındaki uzmanlık tezlerinin bilimsel yayına dönüştürülme oranlarının değerlendirilmesi. ESTUDAM Public Health Journal 2020;5(3):410-417.
- 9. Sipahi H, Durusoy R, Ergin I, Hassoy H, Davas A, Karababa A. Publication rates of public health theses in international and national peer-review journals in Turkey. Iran J Public Health 2012;41(9):31.
- 10. Pop AI, Florea M, Mirel S, Lotrean LM. Assessment of productivity and quality of publications derived from doctoral theses and the scientific performance of graduates at a Romanian Medical and Pharmacy University. Cureus 2025;17(6):e86947.
- 11. Muniz F, Celeste RK, Oballe HJR, Rösing CK. Citation analysis and trends in review articles in dentistry. J Evid Based Dent Pract 2018;18(2):110-118.
- 12. Giordano G, Misuraca M, Restaino M. Evaluating the speed of citation in scientific journals: a survival analysis-based approach. Journal of Informetrics 2025;19(3):101714.
- 13. Özkalaycı N, Yolcu İ, Töz M, Çiçek O. 2016-2020 yılları arasında yazılmış ortodonti uzmanlık ve doktora tezlerinin yayınlanma oranlarının incelenmesi. Yükseköğretim ve Bilim Dergisi 2022;12(2):351-357.
- 14. Meriç P, Kılınç DD. Thesis trends in postgraduate orthodontic education in Turkey between 2017-2021: a pilot study. Int Arc Dent Sci 2022;43(3):197-203.
- 15. Güler Ç, Alper ES. Türkiye’de pedodonti (çocuk diş hekimliği) lisansüstü eğitiminde tamamlanan tezlerin incelenmesi: metodolojik bir çalışma. Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi 2024;33(2):257-263.
- 16. Öztürk AB, Çelikel P. Evaluation of Pediatric dentistry postgraduate education in Turkey by specialty and PhD students. Selcuk Dent J 11(3):293-298.
- 17. Karayürek F, Altindal D, Karayürek E, Gülses A. An analysis of periodontology theses in Türkiye: Ph.D. vs. specialization program. BMC Med Educ 2025;25(1):425.
- 18. Huang W, Wang P, Wu Q. A correlation comparison between altmetric attention scores and citations for six PLOS journals. PLoS One 2018;13(4):e0194962.
- 19. Garfield E. Citation indexes for science. A new dimension in documentation through association of ideas. 1955. Int J Epidemiol 2006;35(5):1123-1127; discussion 7-8.
- 20. Yılmaz B, Mutlu Arı P, Ayçiçek HB, Yardımcı G. Comprehensive analysis of publication of physical medicine and rehabilitation theses in Türkiye between years 2010 and 2020: Academic productivity and related factors. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil 2024;70(2):233-240.
- 21. Wahid N, Warraich NF, Tahira M. Factors influencing scholarly publication productivity: a systematic review. Inform Discovery Delivery 2022;50(1):22-33.
- 22. Büyük SK, Türken R, Akarsu S. A content analysis and evaluation of outcomes of specialty theses in dentistry. J Health Sci Med 2020;4(4):412-415.
- 23. Birkle C, Pendlebury DA, Schnell J, Adams J. Web of Science as a data source for research on scientific and scholarly activity. Quant Sci Stud 2020;1(1):363-376.
- 24. Tasdemir T, Tassoker M. Bibliometric analysis of Turkey-affiliated international publications in pediatric dentistry using RStudio package: a cross-sectional research. Cumhuriyet Dent J 2025;28(2):199-209.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Periodontics |
| Journal Section | Research Article |
| Authors | |
| Submission Date | September 15, 2025 |
| Acceptance Date | January 28, 2026 |
| Publication Date | March 27, 2026 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.7126/cumudj.1784455 |
| IZ | https://izlik.org/JA94BL67YM |
| Published in Issue | Year 2026 Volume: 29 Issue: 1 |
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