Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Date of this Version
7-20-2019
Abstract
The present paper provides a bird’s view about the Materials Science research at the global level by applying various Scientometric indices and indicators. The study uses Science Citation Index of ISI Thomson Reuters’ Web of Science for the period from 2002 to 2016 (for a period of fifteen years) of top fifteen countries in the field of Materials Science. The parameters used in this study are Relative Growth Rate (RGR), Doubling Time (Dt.), Activity Index (AI), Publication Efficiency Index (PEI), Relative Comparative Advantage for Publication (RCAP). The findings of the study reveal that the percentage share of Materials Science publications of the World is 5.61 out of the total scientific publications of the World; the study indicates that China topped the table with 2,87,736 publications, followed by the USA (2,17,422); there is an exponential growth of publication for the world (R2 = 0.967) in Materials Science field; the Annual Growth Rate (RGR) is highest for Iran (through it ranked fifteenth in terms of publications), i.e. 27.00; Activity Index is more than one for nine countries which indicates that the research efforts of these countries correspond to the world’s average; It is evident from the study that USA (1.48), England (1.19), Australia (1.14), Germany (1.09) and France (1.07) have more than one PEI which clearly indicates that there is an impact of publications in Materials Science by these countries is more than the research effort devoted during 2002 to 2016; China topped the list with the highest mean value of Relative Comparative Advantage for Publication (RCAP) i.e. 2.23. RCAP value of China, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Iran, Japan, Russia and France are more than one. The data indicate that these countries are specialised in the field of Materials Science.