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A comparative analysis of publication portfolios of selected economies

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Abstract

Based on papers indexed in the Web of Science, we investigated publication activities of China, Japan, USA and EU with special focus on journals publishing most papers of the four economies. Both overall situation and activities in physics have been analyzed. The results show that world science is still led by the West represented by USA and EU. USA and EU share the most in selecting journals for publishing papers, capability of publishing in high-JIF values. China and Japan publish heavily in local MISC journals, but Japan performs slightly better in publishing in MISC journals with relatively higher-JIF values. Japan is closer to the West and share least with China in selecting journals to publish papers. All the four economies are most productive in physics, and with overlaps in other fields. Similar results are found in publication activities in physics.

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Notes

  1. The data were retrieved in September 2013.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) with Grant Numbers 71473219 and 71273225, and the Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Sciences of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, with Grant Number B14TD02. We are grateful to Thomson Reuters for access to the JCR and WoS data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Resources Management, School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, No. 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Ping Zhou & Youneng Pan

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  1. Ping Zhou
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  2. Youneng Pan
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Correspondence to Youneng Pan.

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Zhou, P., Pan, Y. A comparative analysis of publication portfolios of selected economies. Scientometrics 105, 825–842 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1707-2

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