One of the frequently used methods for assessing research trends and the impact of published scientific literature in a particular discipline is citation analysis. Journals may strive to improve their metrics by choosing manuscripts and study designs that are more likely to be cited. The aim of this study was to identify the 50 most-cited articles in the field of pediatrics, analyze their study design and other characteristics of those articles, and assess the prevalence of systematic reviews among them. In December 2017, we searched Web of Science (WoS) for all articles published in the field of pediatrics. Two authors screened articles independently and in the further analysis included 50 articles with the highest number of citations. To avoid bias for scientific papers published earlier, the citation density was calculated. We also analyzed Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of journals where citation classics were published. The citation density in top 50 cited articles in the field of pediatrics ranged from 33.16 to 432.8, with the average of 119.95. Most of the articles reported clinical science. Median 2016 JIF for journals that published them was 6.226 (range: 2.778 to 72.406). Half of the top 10 highly cited articles in pediatrics were published in a journal with JIF below 5. Most of the studies among the citation classics in pediatrics were cross-sectional studies (N = 22), followed by non-systematic narrative reviews (N = 10), randomized controlled trials (N = 5), cohort studies (N = 5), systematic reviews (N = 2), case-control studies (N = 2), case reports (N = 2), and there was one study protocol and one expert opinion. Few randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews were among citation classics in the field of pediatrics. Articles that use observational research methodology, and are published in journals with lower impact factors, can become citation classics.

中文翻译：

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儿科领域被引用最多的50篇文章中使用的研究方法：成为经典文献的研究类型。

评估研究趋势和特定学科中已发表的科学文献的影响的一种常用方法是引文分析。期刊可能会通过选择更可能被引用的稿件和研究设计来努力提高其指标。这项研究的目的是确定儿科领域中被引用最多的50篇文章，分析其研究设计和这些文章的其他特征，并评估其中的系统评价的普遍性。2017年12月，我们在Web of Science（WoS）中搜索了儿科学领域中发表的所有文章。两位作者独立筛选了文章，并在进一步分析中包括了被引用次数最多的50篇文章。为避免对早期发表的科学论文产生偏见，计算了引文密度。我们还分析了发表经典文献的期刊的期刊影响因子（JIF）。儿科领域被引用次数最多的50篇文章的引文密度为33.16至432.8，平均为119.95。大多数文章报道了临床科学。发布期刊的2016年JIF中位数为6.226（范围：2.778至72.406）。儿科高被引用的10篇文章中有一半发表在JIF低于5的期刊上。在儿科引用经典中，大多数研究是横断面研究（N = 22），其次是非系统性叙事评论（N = 10），随机对照试验（N = 5），队列研究（N = 5），系统评价（N = 2），病例对照研究（N = 2），病例报告（N = 2），并且有一种研究方案和一种专家意见。很少有随机对照试验和系统评价属于儿科学领域的经典文献。使用观察性研究方法并在影响因子较低的期刊上发表的文章可以成为经典著作。