India Scientific Research Continues To Grow
Thomson Reuters Analyzes India’s Growing Share of World's Scientific Papers
Philadelphia, PA USA, London UK - October 21, 2008 — The Scientific business of Thomson Reuters today announced the results of a survey assessing India’s growing scientific prominence. In the September/October issue of Science Watch, Thomson Reuters analyzes data from its National Science Indicators and Essential Science Indicators to show India’s steady increase in research output and impact since 2000.
Such analysis is a hallmark of Science Watch, which uses unique citation data to provide rankings and reports on today’s most significant science.
In 1985, Indian researchers accounted for 12,500 research papers indexed by Thomson Reuters. Between 1985 and 2000, this number barely exceeded 14,000 annually. Then, in 2000, India began to see a significant rise in its scientific output, by 2007 reaching more than 27,000 papers indexed by Thomson Reuters.
Along with an increase in output, the influence of India’s researchers in the sciences also has risen. While India's impact (average number of citations per paper) has not yet reached the world average within most scientific fields, this survey finds that India has made the most notable gains in Physics, with an average of 3.13 cites per paper for the period 2003 to 2007 — 80% of the field average.
“Our analysis indicates that India is moving toward greater participation in world science,” said Christopher King, editor of Science Watch. “Besides a dramatic increase in its number of research papers and its average citation impact, the number of papers authored exclusively by India-based institutions has declined. This allows us to draw the conclusion that India’s presence is increasing in international science.”
India’s largest percent share of any main field indexed by Thomson Reuters is the Multidisciplinary category with a percentage of 5.47 during the 2003 and 2007 period. A close second is Materials Science which accounts for 5.45% and is the field in which India has experienced the steepest growth in the last five years.
In assessing India’s research output, Science Watch identified 250 Research Fronts for which India-based institutions' papers are among the core literature, the majority of which are in the Physical Sciences field. Research Fronts are specialty areas of research defined by a core of foundational papers that have been cited together. One of the authors whose name frequently appears among the core papers is 2006 Thomson Reuters India Citation Laureate Awardee Ashoke Sen, of Harish-Chandra Research Institute in Allahabad.
For more information regarding India’s scientific research, visit ScienceWatch.com. ScienceWatch.com combines the latest Science Watch newsletter material and regularly updated data, analyses, interviews and commentary that had been found previously in Thomson Reuters services In-Cites and Essential Science Indicators Special Topics.
The Scientific business of Thomson Reuters provides information and knowledge to accelerate research, discovery and innovation. Its authoritative, accurate and timely information is essential for drug companies to discover new drugs and get them to market faster; researchers to find relevant papers and know what’s newly published in their subject; and businesses to optimize their intellectual property and find competitive intelligence. Thomson Reuters creates the research platforms and services of the future that will power its customers toward business and personal success.
About Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, scientific, healthcare and media markets, powered by the world’s most trusted news organization. With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs more than 50,000 people in 93 countries. For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com.
###
Media Contact
