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Original research
Journal of Medical Ethics at 50: a data-driven history
  1. Vilius Dranseika1,
  2. Piotr Bystranowski1,2,
  3. Tomasz Żuradzki1,3
  1. 1Interdisciplinary Centre for Ethics, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
  2. 2Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn, Germany
  3. 3Institute of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
  1. Correspondence to Dr Vilius Dranseika; vilius.dranseika{at}uj.edu.pl

Abstract

In this paper, we take a data-driven approach to analyse intellectual trends over the first five decades of the Journal of Medical Ethics (JME). Our data set, comprising all texts published in the JME since 1975, reveals not only the most distinctive topics of the JME in comparison to other key journals with similar profiles but also diachronic fluctuations in the prominence of certain topics. Overall, the distribution of topics shifted gradually, with each editorial period at the JME showing continuity with its immediate predecessor. However, a significant drift in topic distribution is evident over the 50 years, with some editorial periods being more ‘disruptive’ than others. These disruptions were influenced by external events (eg, Public health emergencies), broader trends in bioethics (eg, the recent growth of topics such as Race, Privacy and Vaccination) or editors’ preferences (eg, Ethics education). Additionally, our data provides insights into editorials where editors outlined their visions for the journal or reflected retrospectively on their past editorship.

  • Ethics
  • Ethics-Medical

Data availability statement

No data are available.

https://doi.org/10.1136/jme-2024-110528

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    Data availability statement

    No data are available.

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    Footnotes

    • VD and PB are joint first authors.

    • VD and PB contributed equally.

    • Contributors VD and PB have contributed equally to this paper, and they share joint first-authorship. VD is the guarantor. VD and PB analysed the data. VD wrote the first manuscript in consultation with PB and TŻ. All authors provided critical feedback and helped shape the research, analysis and manuscript. GPT-4o was used to assist editing and adapting the code for visualisations used in the paper.

    • Funding This study was funded by H2020 European Research Council (805498).

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.