Abstract
A bibliometric research based on the Science Citation Index Expanded was carried out to provide insights into research activities on bioinformatics in China. Annual publication output has been on continuous increase both worldwide and for China from 1998 to 2012. In recent years, China showed faster growth rates than world average. As the second productive country in the field of bioinformatics, China did not do equally well in terms of citation counts and h-index. Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shanghai Jiao Tong University were among the ten most productive institutes in the world, and their basic metrics and collaboration patterns were compared with other institutes, especially two institutes from Japan. The journal PLoS One was found to have published the most papers from China. In addition, this paper compared the most active categories in Web of Science worldwide with those of China. Personal perspectives of bioinformatics research in China were also presented.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bartneck, C., & Kokkelmans, S. (2011). Detecting h-index manipulation through self-citation analysis. Scientometrics, 87(1), 85–98.
Binfield, P. (2009). PLoS One: Background, future development, and article-level metrics. http://elpub.scix.net/data/works/att/114_elpub2009.content.pdf.
Cho, C. C., Hu, M. W., & Liu, M. C. (2010). Improvements in productivity based on co-authorship: A case study of published articles in China. Scientometrics, 85(2), 463–470.
Chuang, K. Y., & Ho, Y. S. (2012). Comments on a bibliometric study of the trend in articles related to eutrophication published in Science Citation Index. Scientometrics, 91(3), 1061–1065.
Chuang, K. Y., Wang, M. H., & Ho, Y. S. (2011). High-impact papers presented in the subject category of water resources in the essential science indicators database of the institute for scientific information. Scientometrics, 87(3), 551–562.
Fenstermacher, D. (2005). Introduction to bioinformatics. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 56(5), 440–446.
Fu, H. Z., Chuang, K. Y., Wang, M. H., & Ho, Y. S. (2011). Characteristics of research in China assessed with Essential Science Indicators. Scientometrics, 88(3), 841–862.
Fu, H. Z., & Ho, Y. S. (2013). Independent research of China in Science Citation Index Expanded during 1980–2011. Journal of Informetrics, 7(1), 210–222.
Garcia-Perez, M. A. (2009). A multidimensional extension to Hirsch’s h-index. Scientometrics, 81(3), 779–785.
Glanzel, W. (2001). National characteristics in international scientific co-authorship relations. Scientometrics, 51(1), 69–115.
Glanzel, W., Janssens, F., & Thijs, B. (2009). A comparative analysis of publication activity and citation impact based on the core literature in bioinformatics. Scientometrics, 79(1), 109–129.
Guan, J., & Gao, X. (2008). Comparison and evaluation of Chinese research performance in the field of bioinformatics. Scientometrics, 75(2), 357–379.
Guo, Y. Q., Yu, F., & Liu, A. Y. (2011). A bibliometric primary study of bioinformatics research in China. Advanced Materials Research, 282–283, 417–420.
He, T. W. (2009). International scientific collaboration of China with the G7 countries. Scientometrics, 80(3), 571–582.
Hirsch, J. E. (2005). An index to quantify an individual’s scientific research output. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102(46), 16569–16572.
Huang, H., Andrews, J., & Tang, J. (2012). Citation characterization and impact normalization in bioinformatics journals. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 63(3), 490–497.
Kostoff, R. N., Barth, R. B., & Lau, C. (2008). Quality vs. quantity of publications in nanotechnology field from the People’s Republic of China. Chinese Science Bulletin, 53(8), 1272–1280.
Li, J., & Willett, P. (2010). Bibliometric analysis of Chinese research on cyclization, MALDI-TOF, and antibiotics. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, 50(1), 22–29.
Liu, A. Y., Fu, H. Z., Li, S. Y., & Guo, Y. Q. (2014). Comments on Global trends of solid waste research from 1997 to 2011 by using bibliometric analysis. Scientometrics, 98(1), 767–774.
Luscombe, N. M., Greenbaum, D., & Gerstein, M. (2001). What is bioinformatics? A proposed definition and overview of the field. Methods of Information in Medicine, 40(4), 346–358.
Manoharan, A., Kanagavel, B., Muthuchidambaram, A., & Kumaravel, J. (2011). Bioinformatics research: an informetric view. International Conference on Information Communication and Management, 16, 199–204.
Molatudi, M., Molotja, N., & Pouris, A. (2009). A bibliometric study of bioinformatics research in South Africa. Scientometrics, 81(1), 47–59.
Patra, S. K., & Mishra, S. (2006). Bibliometric study of bioinformatics literature. Scientometrics, 67(3), 477–489.
Song, M., & Kim, S. Y. (2013). Detecting the knowledge structure of bioinformatics by mining full-text collections. Scientometrics, 96(1), 183–201.
Sun, J. S., Wang, M. H., & Ho, Y. S. (2012). A historical review and bibliometric analysis of research on estuary pollution. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 64(1), 13–21.
Wei, L. P., & Yu, J. (2008). Bioinformatics in China: A personal perspective. PLoS Computational Biology, 4, e10000204.
Zhou, P., & Leydesdorff, L. (2006). The emergence of China as a leading nation in science. Research Policy, 35(1), 83–104.
Zhou, P., & Leydesdorff, L. (2008). China ranks second in scientific publications since 2006. ISSI Newletter, 13, 7–9.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Ai-Yuan Liu and Shi-Ying Li have contributed equally to this work.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, AY., Li, SY. & Guo, YQ. Characteristics of research on bioinformatics in China assessed with Science Citation Index Expanded. Scientometrics 99, 371–391 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-014-1231-9
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-014-1231-9