Melbourne leads in research output and impact – survey
[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 1, No. 17
29 October - 12 November 2007 ]
The University of Melbourne has led the recently published Thomson Scientific Australian citation survey with 21 ‘Top Three’ appearances.
With more than 51 000 citations, Melbourne appeared in 11 scientific fields ranked by total citations and 10 fields by impact.
The University also ranked in the ‘Top Three’ in both citations and impact in five fields – neurosciences, physics, microbiology, pharmacology, and psychology/psychiatry.
On the CNN Money website Christopher King, editor of Thomson’s ScienceWatch, said the University of Melbourne displays both productivity and influence.
Thomson Scientific analysed data from its Australian University Indicators 1981-2006, a database containing publication and citation statistics for more than 50 universities and research institutes which evaluates universities and research institutions based on total citations and impact – the average number of citations per paper.
It then ranked institutions by impact and total citations across 21 fields, as well as overall output and impact.
ScienceWatch editor Christopher King is not surprised a ‘powerhouse’ like Melbourne ranked highly in citation surveys as large institutions tend to be the most productive and have the highest research output.
University of Melbourne affiliate, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) of Medical Research, topped all other universities and institutes in overall impact with an average of nearly 20 citations per paper.
ScienceWatch notes that papers from research institutes such as WEHI and the Howard Florey Institute were not included with those from the University of Melbourne even in instances where the institutions appear together.
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