Citation in scientific publications. Audit of the Journal "Strahlentherapie und Onkologie"

Background: The quality of the contributions to "Strahlentherapie und Onkol ogie" is assessed, aiming for improvement of the journal and consequently i ts impact factor. Material and Methods: ALL 164 articles published during 1999 and 2000 in th e categories "review article", "original article", and "short communication " were analyzed concerning number and age of references. Result: In 1999 and 2000 there was a median number of 26 citations per arti cle (range: 0-264). The median age of the cited articles was 4 years. Conclusion: The work of other authors should property be referred to. Citat ion of the same journal might influence the impact factor of the journal.