FEATURED ANALYSES
This section of ScienceWatch.com contains articles drawing on
Thomson Reuters'
unique store of publication and citation statistics. Whether surveying
a specific subject area and ranking its most-cited researchers and
institutions, or assessing the output and impact of research in a given
nation or region, or analyzing trends in the scientific literature and
the enterprise of science as a whole—each article is grounded in
Thomson Reuters data. In particular, citation analysis provides
authority in reflecting the judgments that scientists themselves make
in acknowledging the published research that they view as the most
significant and useful.
2010
The Hottest Research of
2009
by Christopher King
The annual Science Watch survey of
the foregoing year’s hottest research
demonstrates that reprogrammed fibroblast
cells, genomics, and graphene repeat their
strong showing from last year, as do
several of the featured authors, including
Rudolf Jaenisch (pictured) and Andre Geim.
Among 2009’s most-cited reports, the
five-year data release from the Wilkinson
Microwave Anisotropy Probe accounted for
three of the year’s top ten
papers.
View Article
Accomplished in Technology: Taiwan’s
Research Upswing
by Christopher King
Analysis of Taiwan’s scientific output
and concentration since the early 1990s
demonstrates that the nation has been
consistently rising in its number of published
papers and its representation in world science,
particularly in engineering, computer science,
and materials. In the life sciences,
Taiwan’s output has also noticeably
increased in clinical medicine.
View Article
2009
Climate Change Research
by Christopher King
To assess research into climate change and global warming over
the last decade, Science Watch examined some 28,000
pertinent papers published between 1999 and the spring of 2009.
Among institutions, the National Center for Atmospheric
Research and the Smithsonian Institution distinguished
themselves in terms of citation impact. The featured highly
cited researchers represent not only climate science but such
specialties as marine science, geography, and evolutionary
biology.
View Article
Austrian Science: Ascendant in Impact
by Christopher King
A survey of research from Austria since 1985 indicates that the
nation’s overall scientific impact has been rising steadily,
from a point well below the world average to a current standing
that exceeds the world average and also outstrips the impact score
for the combined European Union nations. In particular, the impact
of Austrian physics papers has been impressive in surpassing the
world average, while, since the 1980s, clinical medicine has
improved the most markedly in impact.
View Article
Brazilian Science on the Rise
by Christopher King
An assessment of Brazilian research over the last two decades reveals
that the nation has steadily increased its output of scientific papers
and its presence in world science, as gauged by Thomson Reuters-indexed
literature. As one of the so-called BRIC nations (along with Russia,
India, and China), Brazil bears close watching, as its resources and
potential for growth are expected to make it a significant player in
the world economy in the decades ahead.
View Article
May/June 2009
Thought Leaders in the Unthinkable
by Christopher King
A survey of bioterrorism research since 1999 reveals that the U.S. Army
leads all other institutions in total citations, while The Institute
for Genomic Research is tops by the measure of citations per paper.
Highly cited papers include biochemical and genomic studies of anthrax,
smallpox, tularemia, and other agents. Other papers examine methods for
detecting pathogens by various technologies and discuss general issues
of preparedness and emergency management.
View Article
The Hottest Research of 2007-08
by Christopher King
The customary annual roundup of recent research highlights the
scientists who fielded the greatest number of Hot Papers during the
last year, and also lists the papers published in 2008 that were most
cited by year's end. In the latter group, the physical sciences are
especially prominent, notably in reports on iron-based superconductors
and on recent refinements to the branch of string theory known as
M-theory.
View Article
January/February 2009
Despite Slide in World Share, U.S. Impact Still Looks
Strong
by Christopher King
Graphing and comparing the year-by-year percentage share of world
scientific papers for the United States, the Asia Pacific region, and
the European Union since 1993 indicates that the U.S. is continuing to
lose world share, particularly to the collective Asian nations.
Nevertheless, the citation impact of U.S. research remains strong when
compared to world baseline figures in the main fields of science,
particularly in physics, chemistry, and materials.
View Article
2008
November/December 2008
Energy Gauge: Who Exactly Is In Power?
by Christopher King
To survey Energy & Fuels research in recent years, Science Watch
collected more than 100,000 pertinent papers indexed by Thomson Reuters
since 1998. From this body of work, the most highly cited institutions,
authors, and journals were identified. Among institutions, the U.S.
national laboratories stand out, as do a number of universities,
especially Princeton University, Pennsylvania State University, and
Imperial College London.
View Article
India's New Millennium in Science
by Christopher King
After a long period of sluggish growth, India's output of papers has
risen sharply since the year 2000, while the citation impact of the
nation's research has also been trending upward, notably in such fields
as physics, materials, and other specialty areas in the physical
sciences. Figures also suggest that India-based authors are
collaborating at an increasing rate with multinational coauthors.
View Article
With Output and Impact Rising, China's Science Surge Rolls
On
by Christopher King
A survey of research from the People’s Republic of China
indicates that the nation has dramatically increased its production of
scientific papers in recent years, with its 2007 output now surpassing
all other nations except the United States. The citation impact of
China-based research is also rising steadily.
View Article
The U.K.'s Citation Elite, 2003-07
by Christopher King
According to a survey of high-impact United Kingdom research based on
highly cited papers published between 2003 and 2007, the universities
of Oxford and Cambridge achieved the highest overall citation totals,
while the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and European Bioinformatics
Institute were tops in cites-per-paper scores.
View Article
The Hottest Research of 2006-07
by Christopher King
In its annual roundup of the hottest of recent research, the
Science Watch® Newsletter presents the authors
who fielded the highest numbers of Hot Papers during 2007, along with
the papers published in 2007 that were most cited by year’s end.
Notable on the list of authors is Osaka University’s Shizuo
Akira, who has now achieved the “hot author” distinction
for four consecutive years.
View Article
Sequencing Biology’s Hottest, 2002-06
by Christopher King
A survey of high-impact papers published in molecular biology &
genetics between 2002 and 2006 determines that the Howard Hughes
Medical Institute collected the highest number of citations, while the
University of California, Santa Cruz, was highest in impact.
View Article
