Greek scientific publications are increasingly gaining attention within the EU, the OECD and internationally, according to a new report by the Greek National Documentation Centre (NDC-EKT). ‘Greek Scientific Publications 2002-2016: Bibliometric analysis of Greek publications in international scientific journals – Web of Science’ presents details about the scientific publications of scientists in Greek public and private institutions over the fifteen-year period 2002-2016.
The report ‘Greek Scientific Publications 2002-2016’ concerns the bibliometric data and relevant analysis of the Greek scientific publications in international journals for the period 2002-2016. The data were drawn from Thomson Reuters Web of Science database. It is the latest example of the NDC’s data documentation activities, launched in 2010 to examine major aspects of the national research system. In-depth presentation, periodicity and the inclusion of not only existing but also new indicators has established this publication as a major reference point for both the research community and policymakers in Greece.
The latest study records the country’s output in scientific publications for the 15-year period ranging from 2002 to 2016 on a national and per-institutional category level. In addition, it focuses on the latest 5-year period (2012-2016) in order to highlight recent trends and developments. The indicators present the number and share of publications, percentage of cited publications, number and share of citations, citation impact, field normalised citation score, number and percentile breakdown of the highly cited publications.
During the 2012-2016 period, the number of scientific areas of excellence where Greek publications surpass the world impact average have been increasing, especially in the fields of Natural Science, Engineering & Technology and Medical & Health Sciences. At the same time, the networking and collaboration of Greek scientists, measured by the number of publications with foreign co-authors, is also on the rise, indicating an increased outward view.
According to the director of NDC, Dr Evi Sachini, ‘Greek scientists enjoy a growing recognition of the quality and originality of their scientific work. For our part, as a body and National Authority of the Hellenic Statistical System, we aim to bring forth to the wider public the relevant indicators and highlight the growing significance of these publications in moving towards a development model based on knowledge. For that reason, in co-operation with the Hellenic Statistical Authority, we have included bibliometric indicators in national statistics’.
High impact of Greek publications
According to the report, the number of citations of Greek publications for the 2002-2016 period maintains the upward trend of previous years; for the latest five-year period, 2012-2016, 392,230 citations were reached, setting a new national record. From 2012 to 2016, Greek publications received an average of 7.13 citations per publication, surpassing the EU and OECD averages (6.36 and 6.24, respectively).
Also concerning the 2012-2016 period, both the number and the distribution of high impact Greek publications show significant improvement. More specifically, 1,047 Greek publications ranked at the top 1% of high impact publications worldwide, 3,862 publications at the top 5%, 6,955 at the top 10%, 15,249 publications at the top 25% and 7,718 publications at the top 50%.The distribution of Greek publications based on high impact is 1.9%, 7.0%, 12.6%, 27.6%, and 50.2% respectively. This is the first time that Greece exceeds the world average in all the above categories.
The Greek institutions with the greatest number of scientific publications are universities, research centres monitored by the General Secretariat for Research & Technology (GSRT), public hospitals and technological educational institutes (TEI). Regarding the number of most cited publications, GSRT research centres rank first, followed by private health institutions, other public research bodies and public hospitals.
Read the full report in Greek here
Read also via Greek news Agenda: Increased impact of Greek scientific publications says a new National Documentation Centre’s report; Evi Sachini on the National Documentation Centre and RDI in Greece; Lois Labrianidis on Greece’s comparative advantages and the “Knowledge and Partnership Bridges” initiative; Increase in 2016 R&D expenditures in Greece; “A taste of Thessaloniki”: National Documentation Centre presents two new repositories
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