3.4 Guidelines
Several barriers to continuing research have been identified including
time constraints from personal and professional duties, statistical
knowledge deficits, and a lack of interest.9
Research requires dedication and planning; through the early development
of time management skills and prioritization, potential
otolaryngologists can prepare themselves to deal with time constraints.
In a culture of research for the sake of building a competitive CV, it
is important to consider one’s motivation for
research.7 By finding mentors to spark interest or by
searching earnestly, one can develop an interest in research and acquire
the necessary skills to build a robust academic medicine career.
Mentorship can help better understand why research is so important for
patient care and how it impacts one’s future practice as well.
It is also important to equip oneself with publishing strategies. In
addition to the volume of produced works, other characteristics such as
quality, availability, and accessibility should be considered when
publishing.21 A legible and well-written article
attracts more attention and has a higher likelihood of being published
in a visible and prestigious journal.21 Due to the
formula of the h-index, the longer a paper has been published and
available, the more likely it will have been cited. The h-index also
does not depreciate overtime, meaning the longer a researcher has been
active, the higher the index value. In addition to this, residents who
published as first authors before starting their program were more
likely to continue publishing during their residency.7This shows that the earlier exposure one has with publications, even
before residency, could help compound one’s investment in their h-index
scores overtime.