Trends of DDT research during the period of 1991 to 2005

A keyword analysis was applied in this work to evaluate research trends of DDT (1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane) papers published between 1991 and 2005 in any journal of all the subject categories of the Science Citation Index compiled by ISI (Institute for Scientific Information, Philadelphia, USA). DDT was used as a keyword to search parts of titles, abstracts, or keywords. The published output analysis showed that DDT research steadily increased over the past 15 years and the annual publication output in 2005 was about twice that of 1991. The two peaks in 1997 and 2000 were closely related to two new research fields on DDT, namely the endocrine disruption and the persistent organic pollutants (POPs). A paper entitled “Persistent DDT metabolite p,p’-DDE is a potent androgen receptor antagonist” published in 1995 in Nature by Kelce et al. firstly discovered DDT’s toxicity for humans. As a result, public concerns regarding DDT ballooned and now play a key role in DDT research. Keyword analysis indicated that the research interest changed remarkably from 1991 to 2005. “Endocrine disruption” was one of the most frequently used author keywords in the period between 2002 and 2005 whilst it did not appear before 1997. The new conception of POPs showed the same trend. The whole paper published by India and Mexico ranked at 6^th and 13^th. That showed that DDT research is often related with DDT’s risk and benifits to humans.     

A bibliometric analysis of the performance of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Water Research</Emphasis>

This paper presents a detailed chronological survey of papers published in the journal titled Water Research which started publication since 1967. This current investigation reviews publication patterns between 1967 and 2008. An analysis of the research performance according to publication output, distribution of words in article title, author keywords, and keywords plus. Performances of countries, institutes, and authors, including total, single, collaborative, first author, and corresponding author publications were analyzed. The most-frequently cited articles each year and the articles of the highest impact in 2008 were also reported. Results showed that “activated sludge” was the most frequently used author keyword, followed by “adsorption,” and “drinking water.” Authors from 114 different countries/territories published in the journal, with the most articles submitted by authors from the USA.     

Trends and performance of oxidative stress research from 1991 to 2010

A bibliometric analysis was performed in this work to determine research trends of oxidative stress publications published between 1991 and 2010 in journals of all the subject categories of the Science citation index. Publication trends were analyzed by the retrieved results in publication type and language, characteristics of articles outputs, country, subject categories and journals, and the frequency of title-words and keywords used. Over the years, there was a significant growth in article outputs, with more countries participating and collaborating. The seven major industrialized countries (G7) published the majority of the world articles while the USA contributed about one-third of the total. Chinese and Indian outputs grew much faster than those of other countries in the past 5 years. Oxidative stress research in food and environmental related fields gradually became the mainstream of the research. An analysis of the title-words, author keywords and keywords plus showed that antioxidants in human or rat cells were the hot topic in the field. In addition, “reaction oxygen species”, “apoptosis”, and “nitric-oxide” were major topics of oxidative stress research recently. More articles dealt with diseases that had a strong relationship with oxidative stress, such as inflammation, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and atherosclerosis.     

Response to Chuang and Ho’s comments on “a bibliometric study of the trend in articles related to eutrophication published in Science Citation Index”

This note is a response Chuang and Ho’s comments regarding to the appropriate selection of keywords for a bibliometric study entitled “a bibliometric study of the trend in articles related to eutrophication published in Science Citation Index” published in Scientometrics. Chuang’s inquiry was Huang and Yi’s careless use of filter, which had committed inaccurate results and wrong conclusions. This short note will explain the authors’ arguments to Chuang and Ho’s inquiry in two folds, the conceptual analysis of keywords selection, and bibliometric comparison between ‘eutrophication’ and ‘eutrophication and eutrophic’.     

Global stem cell research trend: Bibliometric analysis as a tool for mapping of trends from 1991 to 2006

In this study, we aim to evaluate the global scientific production of stem cell research for the past 16 years and provide insights into the characteristics of the stem cell research activities and identify patterns, tendencies, or regularities that may exist in the papers. Data are based on the online version of SCI, Web of Science from 1991 to 2006. Articles referring to stem cell were assessed by many aspects including exponential fitting the trend of publication outputs during 1991–2006, distribution of source title, author keyword, and keyword plus analysis. Based on the exponential fitting the yearly publicans of the last decade, it can also be calculated that, in 2,011, the number of scientific papers on the topic of stem-cell will be twice of the number of publications in 2006. Synthetically analyzing three kinds of keywords, it can be concluded that application of stem cell transplantation technology to human disease therapy, especially research related on “embryonic stem cell” and “mesenchymal stem cell” is the orientation of all the stem cell research in the 21^st century. This new bibliometric method can help relevant researchers realize the panorama of global stem cell research, and establish the further research direction.     

Research on the semantic-based co-word analysis

Through analysis of problems of keywords and indexes used in co-word analysis, we find that the key to solving these problems is to integrate experts’ knowledge into co-word analysis. Therefore, this paper proposes a new co-word analysis: semantic-based co-word analysis which can integrate experts’ knowledge into co-word analysis effectively. The performance of this method has been proved to be very good. It can solve problems on keywords and indexes used in co-word analysis effectively and can improve the veracity of co-word analysis. Using this method, the research filed of “human intelligence network” in China has been analyzed. According to the analysis result, we point out that there are four research focuses on it in China now. They are “methods and theories of human intelligence network”, “human intelligence network”, “competitive intelligence system (CIS for short)”, “the construction and visualization of human intelligence network”. The findings of this study not only advance the state of co-word analysis research but also shed light on future research directions.     

Estimate of global research trends and performance in family therapy in Social Science Citation Index

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the global progress and quantitative assessment of current research trends on family therapy, using a bibliometric approach and exploring related literature in the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) database from 1992 to 2009. This study used the bibliometric arrropach to learn about the subject categories, core journals, top countries and leading research institutes in publication, most frequently used author keywords, and most frequently used KeyWords Plus. Also, this study used a “word cluster analysis” method to locate research hot topics. A majority of the subject categories were located in clinical psychology and family studies. The core journals for family therapy located in Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, Contemporary Family Therapy, and Journal of Family Therapy. The US ranked as the top country of world articles with the highest h-index, followed distantly by the UK and Germany. The leading research institutes were Purdue University, University of Miami, and Brigham Young University. “Adolescents” and “adolescent” were highly used words in article titles. Next, the top three most frequently used author keywords were “anorexia nervosa”, “adolescents”, and “psychotherapy”. Finally, the top three most frequently used KeyWords Plus were “psychotherapy”, “children”, and “intervention”. Based on “word cluster analysis” to determine the research hotspots, the research hot topics of family therapy fall into three categories: treated subjects, treated matters, and treatment issues. The research trend in family therapy seems to involve the therapist often treating adolescents or children for eating disorders, substance abuse, depression, or schizophrenia. During treatment or therapy, therapists and researchers must pay attention to the issues of gender, training, and therapeutic alliance.     

A bibliometric analysis of research related to ocean circulation

This study is a bibliometric analysis on ocean circulation-related research for the period 1991–2005. Selected documents included “ocean circulation, sea circulation, seas circulation, marine circulation, and circulation ocean” as a part of the title, abstract or keywords. Analyzed parameters included the document type, the article output, the article distribution in journals, the publication activity of countries, and institutes and the authorship. An indicator, citation per publication (CPP) was applied to evaluate the scientific impact of a publication. The relationship between cumulative articles and the year was modeled. Three dominant categories were picked out, and their output increase was modeled. The USA was found to be leading the research with 47% share of total articles, with a CPP up to 5.9. Woods Hole Oceanography Institute in the USA was the most productive institute with a CPP of 6.8. In the citation analysis, a 5th year citation mode was found. A paper life model was applied to compare the cumulative citations increasing rates of different years.     

Principal trends in modern ecology and its mathematical tools: An analysis of publications

The paper deals with a scientometric analysis of publications from the journals “Ecology” and “Ecologia” (Russia) based on the frequencies of individual and cojoint encountering of ecological and mathematical keywords in these publications. Two main research approaches are revealed: population ecology and system ecology. The first one is used primarily in studies of plant communities, while the other in terrestrial animals and birds. Water communities are the subject of both approaches. The most spread mathematical methods are the methods of mathematical statistics which can be clustered into four groups: standard ones, multivariate methods, in particular multiple regression and multivariate analysis of variance, nonparametric or allowing deviations from normality, and methods of analysis of categorical data. Differential equations and stochastic process are used much lesser. The intensities of using mathematical methods are notably different in two journals. This paper (originally published in Russian in The Journal of General Biology) was inspired, like many others, by Professor V. V. Nalimov, and he contributed much in fruitful discussion and advices.     

The quantity and quality of female researchers: A bibliometric study of Iceland

The output of female researchers in Iceland, relative to that of males, can be investigated because typically their “surnames” end in“dottir” whereas the names of males end in “son”. Over the 21 years from 1980 to 2000, there has been a rise in female: male output from 8% to about 30%. It is higher in the life sciences (biomedical research, biology and clinical medicine) but lower where there is also foreign co-authorship, suggesting that females are less able to make overseas contacts through travel. There appears to be no difference in the quality of female and male research output, as measured either by journal impact categories or by citations. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Porter vs. Porter: Modeling the technological competitiveness of nations

The author evaluates two major models of technological competitiveness of nations, and proposes a synthesized model based on their strengths and then complements it with additional measures. The paper addresses definition distinctions between the terms “competition” and “innovation”, discusses the differing views on whether certain statistics are either input or output indicators, and reconsiders the relevance of the unit of analysis. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Scientific output and its relationship to knowledge economy: an analysis of ASEAN countries

This article seeks to examine the relationship between scientific output and knowledge economy index in 10 South East Asian countries (ASEAN). Using bibliometric data of the Institute of Scientific Information, we analyzed the number of scientific articles published in international peer-reviewed journals between 1991 and 2010 for Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Singapore. During the 20-year period, scientists from the ASEAN countries have published 165,020 original articles in ISI indexed journals, which represents ~0.5% of the world scientific output. Singapore led the region with the highest number of publications (accounting for 45% of the countries’ total publications), followed by Thailand (21%), Malaysia (16%), Vietnam (6%), Indonesia and the Philippines (5% each). The number of scientific articles from those countries has increased by 13% per year, with the rate of increase being highest in Thailand and Malaysia, and lowest in Indonesia and the Philippines. At the country level, the correlation between knowledge economy index and scientific output was 0.94. Based on the relationship between scientific output and knowledge economy, we identified 4 clusters of countries: Singapore as the first group; Thailand and Malaysia in the second group; Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines in the third group; and Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Brunei in the fourth group. These data suggested that there was a strong relationship between scientific research and the degree of “knowledgization” of economy.     

Cross-national comparison of frontier areas of research in physics using bibliometric indicators

This paper attempts to reveal the characteristics of high activity areas of world research in Physics. “Frontier areas”-areas of high activity and areas of low activity are identified. Research activities in “Frontier areas” for twenty six countries (major countries) contributing maximum research output in Physics are analyzed for two time periods (1990 & 1995). The main objective of this study is to reveal the areas of research priorities, trends, gaps and similarity of research efforts of major countries in these “frontier” areas. Key countries in these areas in both the time periods are identified. Multivariate Scaling Algorithm is applied to the countries and fields in each time period, and also simultaneously to understand the relationship between countries and fields and the dynamics of change in research priorities. Results and implications of this study for policy research is highlighted.     

From individual scientific visibility to collective competencies: The example of an academic department in the social sciences

The article discusses the role of university departments in the social sciences. It studies how to describe the three missions of university departments: education, research and consultancy services for public and private organisations. It also proposes some tools to evaluate to what extent these missions are connected. Until now, evaluation in this domain has focused primarily on research activities and far too few indicators have been developed for the other two missions. Moreover, evaluation is often performed on an individual basis, so that the synergy generated by work collectives is rarely evaluated. The purpose of this article is to propose a method for identifying and describing the competencies of a social science research and teaching department. This method can be used to study the articulation between the department's different activities—research, expertise and teaching. Maps of activity are generated, which can serve as a basis for strategic planning of future trends. The approach is based on an analysis of “traces” (articles, contracts, research reports, postgraduate training modules) of the activity of the different components of the Social Science Department, using lexicographic analysis tools. With keywords, titles, summaries and synopses of lectures, it is possible to draw up “maps” representing the department's main competencies.     

The “Mendel syndrome” in science: durability of scientific literature and its effects on bibliometric analysis of individual scientists

The obsolescence and “durability” of scientific literature have been important elements of debate during many years, especially regarding the proper calculation of bibliometric indicators. The effects of “delayed recognition” on impact indicators have importance and are of interest not only to bibliometricians but also among research managers and scientists themselves. It has been suggested that the “Mendel syndrome” is a potential drawback when assessing individual researchers through impact measures. If publications from particular researchers need more time than “normal” to be properly acknowledged by their colleagues, the impact of these researchers may be underestimated with common citation windows. In this paper, we answer the question whether the bibliometric indicators for scientists can be significantly affected by the Mendel syndrome. Applying a methodology developed previously for the classification of papers according to their durability (Costas et al., J Am Soc Inf Sci Technol 61(8):1564–1581, 2010a; J Am Soc Inf Sci Technol 61(2):329–339, 2010b), the scientific production of 1,064 researchers working at the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) in three different research areas has been analyzed. Cases of potential “Mendel syndrome” are rarely found among researchers and these cases do not significantly outperform the impact of researchers with a standard pattern of reception in their citations. The analysis of durability could be included as a parameter for the consideration of the citation windows used in the bibliometric analysis of individuals.     

Multidisciplinarity,interdisciplinarity, and patterns of research collaboration in nanoscience and nanotechnology

This paper first describes the recent development that scientists and engineers of many disciplines, countries, and institutions increasingly engage in nanoscale research at breathtaking speed. By co-author analysis of over 600 papers published in “nano journals” in 2002 and 2003, I investigate if this apparent concurrence is accompanied by new forms and degrees of multi- and interdisciplinarity as well as of institutional and geographic research collaboration. Based on a new visualization method, patterns of research collaboration are analyzed and compared with those of classical disciplinary research. I argue that current nanoscale research reveals no particular patterns and degrees of interdisciplinarity and that its apparent multidisciplinarity consists of different largely mono-disciplinary fields which are rather unrelated to each other and which hardly share more than the prefix “nano”. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Scientometric study of laser patent literature

An analysis of the patents filed and scientific papers published and abstracted in theJournal of Current Laser Abstracts (JCLA) for the period 1967–95 indicates that innovative activity in laser science and technology was at its peak in the early 70s. However, scientific activity surpassed the innovative activity in the early 80s. There was a continuous shift in emphasis from “applications of lasers” to “experimental laser research” and to “theoretical laser research”. Further analysis of the 1840 patents field in 1970–71, 1975–76, and 1980–85 indicates that most of the firms filing patents were situated in USA and thus USA is the leading country filing patents in this area followed by Japan. “Spectroscopy of laser output” followed by “Communication applications of laser” got the maximum emphasis.