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Fifteen years after September 11: Where is the medical research heading? A scientometric analysis

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Abstract

The attacks of 9-11 have been not only the cause of the deaths of thousands of people but have also had an enormous impact on the health of the survivors, the rescue workers, the fire fighters and many more people worldwide. This study aims to depict a representative global picture of the research output of 15 years after the attacks of 9-11 by analyzing the bibliometric data of the overall publications with particular focus on medical topics. This study subsequently deepens the scientometric approach of the overall terrorism research of Magnone in 2014, also published in Scientometrics. The USA has published the most by far, taking the absolute numbers into account. When evaluating citation or socio-economic ratios, Israel takes first place. The main collaborating partner of the USA is the UK, followed by Canada. The share of European countries is rising over time, linked with the terror attacks in European cities. There are only a few other countries involved. Prospective study approaches should be concentrated on international performances as a contribution in dealing with terrorism, its causes and its consequences. The improved access and involvement of other countries’ scientists in the research and publication processes by a greater network would be an important component in facing international terrorism.

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  1. Dörthe Brüggmann and Jenny Jaque have contributed equally to this article.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Occupational Medicine, Social Medicine and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, Goethe-University, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt, Germany

    Doris Klingelhöfer, David A. Groneberg, Markus Braun & Dörthe Brüggmann

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, LA County Hospital and Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 1975 Zonal Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA

    Dörthe Brüggmann & Jenny Jaque

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  1. Doris Klingelhöfer
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  2. David A. Groneberg
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Contributions

DK and DAG contributed to conception, design and analyses. DK, DB, JJ MB and DAG contributed to the interpretation of data. DK drafted the article. DK, DAG, MB, DB and JJ revised the article. DK, MB and DAG participated in the final approval of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Doris Klingelhöfer.

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Klingelhöfer, D., Groneberg, D.A., Braun, M. et al. Fifteen years after September 11: Where is the medical research heading? A scientometric analysis. Scientometrics 117, 45–60 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-018-2878-4

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