Thomson ISI Research Articles

Thomson Scientific's Expanding Web of KnowledgeSM

As end-user demand for easy access to electronic full text continues to climb, an increasing number of information providers are combining that access with their other products and services, making navigating their Web sites by librarians seeking information on a given product or service more daunting than ever. One such provider of a complex array of products and services is Thomson Scientific. This paper looks at some of the many products and tools available from two of Thomson Scientific's businesses, Thomson ISI and Thomson ResearchSoft. Among the items of most interest to health sciences and veterinary librarians and their users are the variety of databases available via the ISI Web of KnowledgeSM platform and the information management products available from ResearchSoft.

Mapping the Chinese Science Citation Database in terms of aggregated journal–journal citation relations

AbstractMethods developed for mapping the journal structure contained in aggregated journal–journal citations in the Science Citation Index (SCI; Thomson ISI, 2002) are applied to the Chinese Science Citation Database of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This database covered 991 journals in 2001, of which only 37 originally had English titles; only 31 of which were covered by the SCI. Using factor‐analytical and graph‐analytical techniques, the authors show that the journal relations are dually structured. The main structure is the intellectual organization of the journals in journal groups (as in the international SCI), but the university‐based journals provide an institutional layer that orients this structure towards practical ends (e.g., agriculture). This mechanism of integration is further distinguished from the role of general science journals. The Chinese Science Citation Database thus exhibits the characteristics of “Mode 2” or transdisciplinary science in the production of scientific knowledge more than its Western counterpart does. The contexts of application lead to correlation among the components.

Towards Open Access

Towards Open Access

Early citation counts correlate with accumulated impact

The present paper addresses the objective of developing forward indicators of research performance using bibliometric information on the UK science base. Most research indicators rely primarily on historical time series relating to inputs to, activity within and outputs from the research system. Policy makers wish to be able to monitor changing research profiles in a more timely fashion, the better to determine where new investment is having the greatest effect. Initial (e.g. 12 months from publication) citation counts might be useful as a forward indicator of the long-term (e.g. 10 years from publication) quality of research publications, but - although there is literature on citation-time functions - no study to evaluate this specifically has been carried out by Thomson ISI or any other analysts. Here, I describe the outcomes of a preliminary study to explore these citation relationships, drawing on the UK National Citation Report held by Evidence Ltd under licence from Thomson ISI for OST policy use. Annual citation counts typically peak at around the third year after publication. I show that there is a statistically highly significant correlation between initial (years 1-2) and later (years 3-10) citations in six research categories across the life and physical sciences. The relationship holds over a wide range of initial citation counts. Papers that attract more than a definable but field dependent threshold of citations in the initial period after publication are usually among the top 1p (the most highly cited papers) for their field and year. Some papers may take off slowly but can later join the high impact group. It is important to recognise that the statistical relationship is applicable to groups of publications. The citation profiles of individual articles may be quite different. Nonetheless, it seems reasonable to conclude that leading indicators of research excellence could be developed. This initial study should now be extended across a wider range fields to test the initial outcomes: earlier papers suggest the model holds in economics. Additional statistical tests should be applied to explore and model the relationship between initial, later and total citation counts and thus to create a general tool for policy application.

ISI/Thomson Scientific – It's not just about Impact Factors

As part of the quarterly Editors' Bulletin, we will be running a series of articles relating to Thomson Scientific and ISI. In this introductory article, we delve into the history of ISI and Citati...

Cr�me de la cr�me in forensic science and legal medicine

The importance and prestige of a scientific journal is increasingly being judged by the number of times the articles it publishes are cited or referenced in articles published in other scientific journals. Citation counting is also used to assess the merits of individual scientists when academic promotion and tenure are decided. With the help of Thomson, Institute for Scientific Information (Thomson ISI) a citation database was created for six leading forensic science and legal medicine journals. This database was used to determine the most highly cited articles, authors, journals and the most prolific authors of articles in the forensic sciences. The forensic science and legal medicine journals evaluated were: Journal of Forensic Sciences (JFS), Forensic Science International (FSI), International Journal of Legal Medicine (IJLM), Medicine, Science and the Law (MSL), American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology (AJFMP), and Science and Justice (S&J). The resulting forensics database contained 14,210 papers published between 1981 and 2003. This in-depth bibliometric analysis has identified the creme de la creme in forensic science and legal medicine in a quantitative and objective way by citation analysis with focus on articles, authors and journals.

The system of research and development indicators: Entry points for information agents

This paper discusses the Thomson ISI Research Services Group approaches to analyzing the world research environment, particularly in terms of comparing research performance among nations and institutions. This discussion concentrates on the recent research environment - 1998-2002 - beginning first with comparisons among selected nations overall, in terms of publications - an indicator of research output and productivity; and citations - an indicator of research impact and influence. The second part addresses the German research landscape and concludes with an analysis of the contributions of specific German institutions to Germanys' research performance.

Focus on Software

Focus on Software

Thomson ISI announces the release of BIOSIS Previews 3.0

Thomson ISI announces the release of BIOSIS Previews 3.0

Thomson ISI finds open access journals making an impact

Thomson ISI finds open access journals making an impact

The scientific impact of nations.

To measure the quantity and quality od science in different nations, the author has analysed the numbers of research papers and reviews, and their citations. All data are were provided by Thomson ISI, previously known as the Institute for Scientific Information.

Thomson ISI and NEC team up to index Web-based scholarship

Thomson ISI and NEC team up to index Web-based scholarship

Thomson ISI to Expand Web of Science Coverage Back to 1900

Thomson ISI to Expand Web of Science Coverage Back to 1900

Clustering Concepts

RefViz 1.0 . Thomson ISI ResearchSoft, Berkeley, CA, 2003. $299.95. www.refviz.com . This text analysis software allows researchers and students to visualize and explore thematic and conceptual connections among references from scientific literature.

AAPS PharmSciTech update

Submissions have dramatically increased in 2003. During the first three years, 2000-2002, 109 manuscripts were published. In the first half of 2003, submissions have more than doubled from that in 2002 (130% increase) and publications are up by 56%. Considering the number of manuscripts in the review and revision processes, our goal of 50 manuscripts in 2003 will be easily realized, quite likely by the annual meeting in October. Reaching this milestone of 50 published articles should justify inclusion in the Thomson ISI Journal Citation database, which calculates impact factors for scholarly journals.