Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

A two-dimensional approach to evaluate the scientific production of countries (case study: the basic sciences)

  • Published:
Scientometrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The quantity and quality of scientific output of the topmost 50 countries in the four basic sciences (agricultural & biological sciences, chemistry, mathematics, and physics & astronomy) are studied in the period of the recent 12 years (1996–2007). In order to rank the countries, a novel two-dimensional method is proposed, which is inspired by the H-index and other methods based on quality and quantity measures. The countries data are represented in a “quantity–quality diagram”, and partitioned by a conventional statistical algorithm into three clusters, members of which are rather the same in all of the basic sciences. The results offer a new perspective on the global positions of countries with regards to their scientific output.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Further information available at: http://www.scimagojr.com.

  2. Quoted in “Nation Master” website, available at: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/peopop-people-population.

  3. The population data for years 2006 and 2007 are supposed to be nearly the same as that of year 2005.

  4. In Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, the global average corresponds to PPPm = 1 and CPPm = 1.

References

  • Ball, P. (2005). Index aims for fair ranking of scientists. Nature, 436(7053), 900.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bornmann, L., & Daniel, H.-D. (2005). Does the H-index for ranking of scientists really work? Scientometrics, 65(3), 391–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braun, T., Glänzel, W., & Schubert, A. (2006). A Hirsch-type index for journals. Scientometrics, 69(1), 169–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Division of Science Resources Statistics (SRS), NSF (2008). Science and Engineering Indicators (SEI) available at: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind08/.

  • Gan, G., Ma, C. & Wu, J. (2007). Data clustering: theory, algorithms, and applications, ASA-SIAM Series on Statistics and Applied Probability. Philadelphia, ASA, Alexandria, VA: SIAM.

  • Hirsch, J. E. (2005). An index to quantify an individual’s scientific output, PNAS, 102(46): 16569–16572. arXiv:physics/0508025v5.

  • King, D. A. (2004). The scientific impact of nations. Nature, 430(6997), 311–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rehn, C., Kronman, U., & Wadskog, D. (2007). Bibliometric Indicators Definitions and Usage at Karolinska Institute, ver. 1.0.

  • May, R. M. (1997). The scientific wealth of nations. Science, 275(5301), 793–796.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schubert, A., & Braun, T. (1986). Relative indicators and relational charts for comparative assessment of publication output and citation impact. Scientometrics, 9(5–6), 281–241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Science and Technology Indicator Project Team, NISTEP, MEXT (2004) Science and Technology Indicators: 2004, A Systematic Analysis of Science and Technology Activities in Japan available at: http://www.nistep.go.jp/achiev/ftx/eng/rep073e/idx073e.html.

  • UNESCO. (2005). UNESCO Science Report, available at: http://www.unesco.org/science/psd/publications/sciencereport2005.pdf.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Ave, Tehran, Iran

    Ammar Nejati

  2. Amirkabir University of Technology, 464 Hafez Ave, Tehran, Iran

    Seyyed Mehdi Hosseini Jenab

Authors
  1. Ammar Nejati
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. Seyyed Mehdi Hosseini Jenab
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seyyed Mehdi Hosseini Jenab.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nejati, A., Hosseini Jenab, S.M. A two-dimensional approach to evaluate the scientific production of countries (case study: the basic sciences). Scientometrics 84, 357–364 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0103-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0103-1

Keywords