Citation analysis of top research papers in chemistry with specific reference to India

Abstract

Purpose

The main purpose of this study is to determine India's position in publishing top research papers in chemistry as reflected in Science Direct. It also aims to find out authorship pattern, countries with major contributions, journals with high publication rates, etc.

Design/methodology/approach

Citation analysis methods were applied to study citations of 450 research papers in chemistry taken from the listing of top 25 papers in Science Direct database. The citations covered 18 issues of the Science Direct generated alert service for the period 2004‐2008. The bibliographic data were entered in Excel sheets for necessary analysis.

Findings

The studies revealed that, out of 450 research papers, 36 (8 per cent) are contributed by Indian researchers. In the ranking of contributing countries, India reserves third position after the USA and China. More than 86 per cent of Indian chemistry research papers were cited by others. As regards to number of citations, 25 per cent of Indian papers are cited between 10 and 25 times each. The journal Tetrahedron was found as the highest publishing journal with 71 (16 per cent) publications.

Research limitations/implications

The paper presents a sense of the importance of Indian chemistry research, and as such informs that community, as well as researchers involved in citation analysis.

Originality/value

The outcome of the study is an original research work with citation analysis of top research papers in chemistry. The findings will have practical implications for Indian scientists, funding agencies and research establishments in different areas of chemical sciences.

Citation

Maharana, B., Majhi, S. and Bihari Sethi, B. (2011), "Citation analysis of top research papers in chemistry with specific reference to India", Library Review, Vol. 60 No. 6, pp. 501-512. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242531111147215