{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T07:21:35Z","timestamp":1760080895426,"version":"3.37.3"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,6]],"date-time":"2023-11-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1699228800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,6]],"date-time":"2023-11-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1699228800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Scientometrics"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>Evaluating academics is a challenge, and the use of indicators such as scientific impact (i.e. number of published papers and their citation rate) is complex and poorly validated. We propose a new indicator for academic medical research: the \u201cFree lunches\u201d index (<jats:italic>fl<\/jats:italic>-index), computed from the sum of gifts from the industry. The <jats:italic>fl<\/jats:italic>-index provides a direct and straightforward measure of industry investment consisting in regaling a clinical researcher with rewards like a leisurely meal in a Michelin-starred restaurant or a relaxing stay in a high-end resort hotel.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Methods and findings<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>3,936 French academics were included in this observational and satirical retrospective study using the French database registering gifts received by medical doctors and Web of Science, over the years 2014\u20132019. Pearson\u2019s correlation coefficients explored the associations between the <jats:italic>fl<\/jats:italic>-index and in the <jats:italic>h<\/jats:italic>-index (the maximum number of published papers <jats:italic>h<\/jats:italic> that have each been cited at least <jats:italic>h<\/jats:italic> times) increase over the period 2014\u20132019. The diagnostic properties and optimal thresholds of the <jats:italic>fl<\/jats:italic>-index for detecting high scientific productivity were explored. High scientific productivity was defined as ranking in the top 25% scientists in terms of increase in the h-index. To detect possible differences according to medical disciplines, subgroup analyses were performed. The correlation coefficient between the <jats:italic>fl<\/jats:italic>-index and the increase in the <jats:italic>h<\/jats:italic>-index was 0.31 (95% CI 0.29 to 0.34). The optimal threshold was 7,700 \u20ac for the <jats:italic>fl<\/jats:italic>-index, giving a sensitivity of 65% (95% CI 61 to 67%), a specificity of 59% (95% CI 57 to 61%). However, there were considerable differences across medical disciplines, with correlations ranging from 0.12 (Morphology and morphogenesis) to 0.51 (Internal medicine, geriatrics, general surgery and general medicine), and the median <jats:italic>fl<\/jats:italic>-index ranging from 37 \u20ac (Public health, environment and society) to 30 404 \u20ac (Cardiorespiratory and vascular pathologies). Importantly, the highest correlations and values for the <jats:italic>fl<\/jats:italic>-index were observed for clinical disciplines.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>Overall, the correlation between the <jats:italic>fl<\/jats:italic>-index and an increase in the <jats:italic>h<\/jats:italic>-index was modest so that the <jats:italic>fl<\/jats:italic>-index cannot be used as a surrogate for academic success as gauged by productivity-based metrics. However, future residents could use these results to complement the usual metrics in order to choose (or avoid) certain specialties, depending on whether they are more eager to produce scientific articles or to enjoy an affluent lifestyle that they consider well-deserved.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Registration<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>osf.io\/7d4bk.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1007\/s11192-023-04862-8","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,6]],"date-time":"2023-11-06T04:10:09Z","timestamp":1699243809000},"page":"6761-6772","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The \u201cFree lunches\u201d index for assessing academics: a not entirely serious proposal"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"128","author":[{"given":"Alexandre","family":"Scanff","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Nicolas","family":"Mauhe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Marion","family":"Taburet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Pierre-Etienne","family":"Savourat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Thomas","family":"Cl\u00e9ment","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Benjamin","family":"Bastian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ioana","family":"Cristea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Alain","family":"Braillon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Nicolas","family":"Carayol","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3760-3801","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Florian","family":"Naudet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,6]]},"reference":[{"issue":"7400","key":"4862_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1155","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.326.7400.1155","volume":"326","author":"K Abbasi","year":"2003","unstructured":"Abbasi, K., & Smith, R. (2003). No more free lunches. BMJ, 326(7400), 1155\u20131156. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmj.326.7400.1155","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"issue":"6924","key":"4862_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"283","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.308.6924.283","volume":"308","author":"DG Altman","year":"1994","unstructured":"Altman, D. G. (1994). The scandal of poor medical research. BMJ, 308(6924), 283\u2013284. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmj.308.6924.283","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"issue":"1","key":"4862_CR3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2","DOI":"10.1038\/embor.2008.233","volume":"10","author":"L Bornmann","year":"2009","unstructured":"Bornmann, L., & Daniel, H. D. (2009). The state of h index research. Is the h index the ideal way to measure research performance? EMBO Reports, 10(1), 2\u20136. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/embor.2008.233","journal-title":"EMBO Reports"},{"issue":"12","key":"4862_CR4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1446","DOI":"10.1373\/clinchem.2015.246280","volume":"61","author":"PM Bossuyt","year":"2015","unstructured":"Bossuyt, P. M., Reitsma, J. B., Bruns, D. E., et al. (2015). STARD 2015: an updated list of essential items for reporting diagnostic accuracy studies. Clinical Chemistry, 61(12), 1446\u20131452.","journal-title":"Clinical Chemistry"},{"key":"4862_CR5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6573","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.g6573","volume":"349","author":"A Braillon","year":"2014","unstructured":"Braillon, A. (2014). Interrupting the dark dance of bribery. BMJ, 349, 6573.","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"4862_CR6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"291","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2013.00291[publishedOnlineFirst:20130624]","volume":"7","author":"B Brembs","year":"2013","unstructured":"Brembs, B., Button, K., & Munaf\u00f2, M. (2013). Deep impact: Unintended consequences of journal rank. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 291. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fnhum.2013.00291[publishedOnlineFirst:20130624]","journal-title":"Frontiers in Human Neuroscience"},{"key":"4862_CR7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10961-021-09888-9","author":"N Carayol","year":"2021","unstructured":"Carayol, N., & Carpentier, E. (2021). The spread of academic invention: A nationwide case study on French data (1995\u20132012). The Journal of Technology Transfer. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10961-021-09888-9","journal-title":"The Journal of Technology Transfer"},{"key":"4862_CR8","volume-title":"The impact of project-based funding of science: The French ANR experience","author":"N Carayol","year":"2017","unstructured":"Carayol, N., & Lano\u00eb, M. (2017). The impact of project-based funding of science: The French ANR experience. University College Dublin."},{"issue":"2","key":"4862_CR9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2021-051042","volume":"12","author":"M Clinckemaillie","year":"2022","unstructured":"Clinckemaillie, M., Scanff, A., Naudet, F., et al. (2022). Sunshine on KOLs: Assessment of the nature, extent and evolution of financial ties between the leaders of professional medical associations and the pharmaceutical industry in France from 2014 to 2019: A retrospective study. British Medical Journal Open, 12(2), e051042. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmjopen-2021-051042","journal-title":"British Medical Journal Open"},{"issue":"12","key":"4862_CR10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"975","DOI":"10.1016\/S2215-0366(19)30292-5","volume":"6","author":"IA Cristea","year":"2019","unstructured":"Cristea, I. A., & Naudet, F. (2019). US Food and drug administration approval of esketamine and brexanolone. Lancet Psychiatry, 6(12), 975\u2013977.","journal-title":"Lancet Psychiatry"},{"issue":"8","key":"4862_CR11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rsos.220334","volume":"9","author":"MR Dougherty","year":"2022","unstructured":"Dougherty, M. R., & Horne, Z. (2022). Citation counts and journal impact factors do not capture some indicators of research quality in the behavioural and brain sciences. Royal Society Open Science, 9(8), 220334.","journal-title":"Royal Society Open Science"},{"key":"4862_CR12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"517","DOI":"10.1016\/j.wneu.2017.03.110","volume":"103","author":"JA Eloy","year":"2017","unstructured":"Eloy, J. A., Kilic, S., Yoo, N. G., et al. (2017). Is industry funding associated with greater scholarly impact among academic neurosurgeons? World Neurosurgery, 103, 517\u2013525.","journal-title":"World Neurosurgery"},{"issue":"15","key":"4862_CR13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1453","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.282.15.1453","volume":"282","author":"M Friedberg","year":"1999","unstructured":"Friedberg, M., Saffran, B., Stinson, T. J., et al. (1999). Evaluation of conflict of interest in economic analyses of new drugs used in oncology. JAMA, 282(15), 1453\u20131457.","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"4862_CR14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.l6015","volume":"367","author":"B Goupil","year":"2019","unstructured":"Goupil, B., Balusson, F., Naudet, F., et al. (2019). Association between gifts from pharmaceutical companies to French general practitioners and their drug prescribing patterns in 2016: Retrospective study using the French Transparency in Healthcare and National Health Data System databases. BMJ, 367, l6015.","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"4862_CR15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.58654","author":"A Hatch","year":"2020","unstructured":"Hatch, A., & Curry, S. (2020). Changing how we evaluate research is difficult, but not impossible. eLife. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7554\/eLife.58654","journal-title":"eLife"},{"issue":"46","key":"4862_CR16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"16569","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0507655102[publishedOnlineFirst:20051107]","volume":"102","author":"JE Hirsch","year":"2005","unstructured":"Hirsch, J. E. (2005). An index to quantify an individual\u2019s scientific research output. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 102(46), 16569\u201316572. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.0507655102[publishedOnlineFirst:20051107]","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA"},{"key":"4862_CR17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5356","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.b5356","volume":"339","author":"R Horne","year":"2009","unstructured":"Horne, R., Petrie, K. J., & Wessely, S. (2009). H-index pathology: implications for medical researchers and practitioners. BMJ, 339, 5356.","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"issue":"1","key":"4862_CR18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"E57","DOI":"10.9778\/cmajo.20170095","volume":"6","author":"V Kaestner","year":"2018","unstructured":"Kaestner, V., Edmiston, J. B., & Prasad, V. (2018). The relation between publication rate and financial conflict of interest among physician authors of high-impact oncology publications: An observational study. CMAJ Open, 6(1), E57.","journal-title":"CMAJ Open"},{"issue":"22","key":"4862_CR19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2357","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2016.16437","volume":"316","author":"AS Kesselheim","year":"2016","unstructured":"Kesselheim, A. S., & Avorn, J. (2016). Approving a problematic muscular dystrophy drug: implications for FDA policy. JAMA, 316(22), 2357\u20132358. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1001\/jama.2016.16437","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"4862_CR20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/14651858.MR000033.pub3","author":"A Lundh","year":"2017","unstructured":"Lundh, A., Lexchin, J., Mintzes, B., et al. (2017). Industry sponsorship and research outcome. Cochrane Database Systematic Review. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/14651858.MR000033.pub3","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Systematic Review"},{"issue":"9","key":"4862_CR21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"880","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMsr1610625","volume":"376","author":"MS McCoy","year":"2017","unstructured":"McCoy, M. S., Carniol, M., Chockley, K., et al. (2017). Conflicts of interest for patient-advocacy organizations. New England Journal of Medicine, 376(9), 880\u2013885. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1056\/NEJMsr1610625","journal-title":"New England Journal of Medicine"},{"issue":"11","key":"4862_CR22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"697","DOI":"10.1111\/pcn.12914","volume":"73","author":"H Miyata","year":"2019","unstructured":"Miyata, H., Takahashi, M., Murai, Y., et al. (2019). Nalmefene in alcohol-dependent patients with a high drinking risk: Randomized controlled trial. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 73(11), 697\u2013706. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/pcn.12914","journal-title":"Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences"},{"issue":"3","key":"4862_CR23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pbio.2004089","volume":"16","author":"D Moher","year":"2018","unstructured":"Moher, D., Naudet, F., Cristea, I. A., et al. (2018). Assessing scientists for hiring, promotion, and tenure. PLoS Biology, 16(3), e2004089.","journal-title":"PLoS Biology"},{"issue":"1","key":"4862_CR24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1038\/s41562-016-0021","volume":"1","author":"MR Munaf\u00f2","year":"2017","unstructured":"Munaf\u00f2, M. R., Nosek, B. A., Bishop, D. V., et al. (2017). A manifesto for reproducible science. Nature Human Behaviour, 1(1), 1\u20139.","journal-title":"Nature Human Behaviour"},{"issue":"15","key":"4862_CR25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1466","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMsa0807160","volume":"361","author":"K Okike","year":"2009","unstructured":"Okike, K., Kocher, M. S., Wei, E. X., et al. (2009). Accuracy of conflict-of-interest disclosures reported by physicians. New England Journal of Medicine, 361(15), 1466\u20131474. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1056\/NEJMsa0807160","journal-title":"New England Journal of Medicine"},{"key":"4862_CR26","unstructured":"Peryer M. Alpern accepted more pharma payments than any U.S. medical school dean in 2018 Yale Dly. News2019 [Available from: https:\/\/yaledailynews.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/03\/alpern-accepted-more-pharma-payments-than-any-u-s-medical-school-dean-in-2018\/]"},{"key":"4862_CR27","unstructured":"R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing [program]: R Foundation for Statistical Computing, 2017"},{"key":"4862_CR28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2105-12-77","volume":"12","author":"X Robin","year":"2011","unstructured":"Robin, X., Turck, N., Hainard, A., et al. (2011). pROC: An open-source package for R and S+ to analyze and compare ROC curves. BMC Bioinformatics, 12, 77.","journal-title":"BMC Bioinformatics"},{"key":"4862_CR29","unstructured":"Thomas K, Ornstein C. Memorial Sloan Kettering gave top doctor $1.5 million after he was forced to resign over conflicts of interest. Propublica 2020"},{"issue":"3","key":"4862_CR30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"252","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMsa065779","volume":"358","author":"EH Turner","year":"2008","unstructured":"Turner, E. H., Matthews, A. M., Linardatos, E., et al. (2008). Selective publication of antidepressant trials and its influence on apparent efficacy. New England Journal of Medicine, 358(3), 252\u2013260. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1056\/NEJMsa065779","journal-title":"New England Journal of Medicine"},{"issue":"20","key":"4862_CR31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1963","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMsa0906126","volume":"361","author":"SS Vedula","year":"2009","unstructured":"Vedula, S. S., Bero, L., Scherer, R. W., et al. (2009). Outcome reporting in industry-sponsored trials of gabapentin for off-label use. New England Journal of Medicine, 361(20), 1963\u20131971. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1056\/NEJMsa0906126","journal-title":"New England Journal of Medicine"},{"key":"4862_CR32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.n1682","volume":"374","author":"S Walsh","year":"2021","unstructured":"Walsh, S., Merrick, R., Milne, R., et al. (2021). Aducanumab for Alzheimer\u2019s disease? BMJ, 374, n1682. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmj.n1682","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"issue":"43","key":"4862_CR33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1686","DOI":"10.21105\/joss.01686","volume":"4","author":"H Wickham","year":"2019","unstructured":"Wickham, H., Averick, M., Bryan, J., et al. (2019). Welcome to the Tidyverse. Journal of Open Source Software, 4(43), 1686.","journal-title":"Journal of Open Source Software"},{"issue":"1","key":"4862_CR34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"32","DOI":"10.1002\/1097-0142(1950)3:1<32::AID-CNCR2820030106>3.0.CO;2-3","volume":"3","author":"WJ Youden","year":"1950","unstructured":"Youden, W. J. (1950). Index for rating diagnostic tests. Cancer, 3(1), 32\u201335.","journal-title":"Cancer"}],"container-title":["Scientometrics"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s11192-023-04862-8.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s11192-023-04862-8\/fulltext.html","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s11192-023-04862-8.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,23]],"date-time":"2023-11-23T15:13:27Z","timestamp":1700752407000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/10.1007\/s11192-023-04862-8"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,6]]},"references-count":34,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,12]]}},"alternative-id":["4862"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s11192-023-04862-8","relation":{},"ISSN":["0138-9130","1588-2861"],"issn-type":[{"type":"print","value":"0138-9130"},{"type":"electronic","value":"1588-2861"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,6]]},"assertion":[{"value":"30 May 2023","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"16 October 2023","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"6 November 2023","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"order":1,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at  and declare: no support from any organization for the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous 3\u00a0years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work except for author MT who reports a 2019\u20132022\u00a0fl<i>-index<\/i> of 96 \u20ac (with gifts from SHIRE, Otsuka and Janssen-cilag). AB, IC and FN are among industry independent experts from Jeanne Lenzer\u2019s list.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}]}}