Spanish performance in life sciences. A comparative appraisal of the scientific production of Spain and five other European countries in 1989

Abstract

The output in life science disciplines from Spain and five other European countries has been measured in a datafile derived from theCurrent Contents-Life Sciences on diskette (1989). The results of this flash evaluation were contrasted with data retrieved from a survey covering the yearly output during the 1973–83 period and thee 1981–85 aggregated value from Schubert, Glanzel, Braun datafiles. The results of these studies showed an increasing share of Spain in the six countries' output, especially in the subfields of organic chemistry and phytochemistry. However, the quality of the Spanish articles—as deduced from the journal impact factors (JRC-1989)—is below the six countries average. The usefulness of the Current Contents on diskette for handy and reliable flash evaluations has been ascertained through a comparative analysis with more comprehensive surveys.