The European Union, China, and the United States in the top-1% and top-10% layers of most-frequently cited publications: Competition and collaborations

Loet Leydesdorff, Caroline S. Wagner, Lutz Bornmann
2014 Journal of Informetrics  
The percentages of shares of world publications of the European Union and its member states, China, and the United States have been represented differently as a result of using different databases. An analytical variant of the Web-of-Science (of Thomson Reuters) enables us to study the dynamics in the world publication system in terms of the field-normalized top-1% and top-10% most-frequently cited publications. Comparing the EU28, USA, and China at the global level shows a top-level dynamic
more » ... t is different from the analysis in terms of shares of publications: the United States remains far more productive in the top-1% of all papers; China drops out of the competition for elite status; and the EU28 increased its share among the top-cited papers from 2000 to 2010. Some of the EU28 member states overtook the United States during this decade; but a clear divide remains between EU15 (Western Europe) and the Accession Countries. Network analysis shows that China was embedded in this top-layer of internationally co-authored publications. These publications often involve more than a single European nation.
doi:10.1016/j.joi.2014.05.002 fatcat:fmo47alti5andixzu6pzosndym