U.S. Share of Scientific Publishing Declines
Over the last two decades, the United States has seen its share of world output of scientific papers steadily decrease, while the collective shares of nations in the European Union (EU) and the Asia Pacific region have increased, according to a recent study published in Science Watch, the bimonthly newsletter of Thomson Scientific, a business unit of The Thomson Corporation. The study was conducted using citation data from the more than 8,700 prestigious, high-impact journals archived in the National Science Indicators(R) database.
Does this mean that there is an impending shortage of scientists in the U.S.? Though the National Science Board in 2004 warned of an impending scientist shortage in the United States due to international competition and a post-9/11 culture, Thomson Scientific experts don’t feel the United States’ loss in share is necessarily reflective of such a trend. "It’s important to note that, while the percentage of share of these countries may have fluctuated, the numbers of papers published in all regions have increased," said Henry Small, chief scientist of Thomson Scientific. "This makes it particularly difficult to attribute this trend to any purported U.S. shortage of scientists.
Serial E-News, July 28, 2005
