Global research status in leading nuclear science and technology journals during 2001-2010

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to make an assessment of the global status of research in nuclear science and technology (NST) publications. Design/methodology/approach – The present bibliometric study is based on bibliographic data that were retrieved from the Web of Science during 2001-2010. In all, 85,198 records published by the 35 journals under the category of NST in the database of Journal Citation Reports were assessed in terms of many aspects. A further assessment has been made using advanced bibliometric indicators such as field citation scores and collaboration network analysis using the NetDraw software. Findings – Unlike research-prolific countries, the annual growth rates of publications for most developing countries have experienced an evident leap. The highest scientific impact and productivity among the publications belonged to the International Journal of Radiation Biology (10.46). A limited group of prolific authors produced a considerable portion of the publications, among whom, Japanese authors had the most contributions. The USA is in the centre of the international collaborative network illustration and is also the main partner of most of the research-prolific countries. Nuclear physics has the greatest field normalised measured impact ratios (CPP/FCSm = 4.2) among the publications, which signifies its inherent impact on NST research. In general, like the inter-institutional collaborative publications, the internationally collaborative publications are more frequently cited and therefore have a higher scientific impact. Originality/value – The paper could aid to show collaborative research in the NST journals and assess the research performance of the NST.