Geographic trends in research output and citations in veterinary medicine: insight into global research capacity, species specialization, and interdisciplinary relationships

Abstract

BackgroundBibliographic data can be used to map the research quality and productivity of a discipline. We hypothesized that bibliographic data would identify geographic differences in research capacity, species specialization, and interdisciplinary relationships within the veterinary profession that corresponded with demographic and economic indices.ResultsUsing the SCImago portal, we retrieved veterinary journal, article, and citation data in the Scopus database by year (1996–2011), region, country, and publication in species-specific journals (food animal, small animal, equine, miscellaneous), as designated by Scopus. In 2011, Scopus indexed 165 journals in the veterinary subject area, an increase from 111 in 1996. As a percentage of veterinary research output between 1996 and 2010, Western Europe and North America (US and Canada) together accounted for 60.9% of articles and 73.0% of citations. The number of veterinary articles increased from 8815 in 1996 to 19,077 in 2010 (net increase 66.6%). During this time, publications increased by 21.0% in Asia, 17.2% in Western Europe, and 17.0% in Latin America, led by Brazil, China, India, and Turkey. The United States had the highest number of articles in species-specific journals. As a percentage of regional output, the proportion of articles in small animal and equine journals was highest in North America and the proportion of articles in food animal journals was highest in Africa. Based on principal component analysis, total articles were highly correlated with gross domestic product (based on World Bank data). The proportion of articles in small animal and equine journals was associated with gross national income, research and development, and % urban population, as opposed to the proportion of food animal articles, agricultural output, and % rural population. Co-citations linked veterinary medicine with medicine in the United States, with basic sciences in Eastern Europe and the Far East, and with agriculture in most other regions and countries.ConclusionsBibliographic data reflect the demographic changes affecting veterinary medicine worldwide and provide insight into current and changing global research capacity, specialization, and interdisciplinary affiliations. A more detailed analysis of species-specific trends is warranted and could contribute to a better understanding of educational and workforce needs in veterinary medicine.

Peer-Reviewed Veterinary Journals From Arabic-Speaking Countries: A Systematic Review

“…Analysis has indicated, however, that of the articles produced in speciesspecific veterinary journals in the Middle East from 1996-2010, 13% focused on food animals. 30 This was much in line with North America, Western Europe, and the Pacific region food animal article percentages during the same period. 30 Comparatively, journal articles within the Middle East that discussed small-animal topics accounted for less than 5% within that time frame.…”

“…30 This was much in line with North America, Western Europe, and the Pacific region food animal article percentages during the same period. 30 Comparatively, journal articles within the Middle East that discussed small-animal topics accounted for less than 5% within that time frame. 30 This supports to some degree the strong focus on livestock health that is found within this region.…”

“…30 Comparatively, journal articles within the Middle East that discussed small-animal topics accounted for less than 5% within that time frame. 30 This supports to some degree the strong focus on livestock health that is found within this region. 8 An electronic search by Aboul-Enein et al 19 investigating peer-reviewed public health journals within the Arabic-speaking region revealed 25 journals from 11 countries, with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Sudan being most heavily represented.…”

Systematic Review of Prognostic Factors for Mortality in Dogs with Immune‐mediated Hemolytic Anemia

“…Of the large numbers of studies evaluated for inclusion in this review, only 6 ultimately were selected. The small number of studies available for review reflects a paucity of published evidence relating to the natural history of canine IMHA in particular and diseases of dogs in general …”

Bibliometric analysis of multi-language veterinary journals

“…As for the other quartiles, their averages were 93.1% for Q2, 62.1% for Q3 and 27.4% for Q4. In general, journals that publish documents mainly in English have a higher impact factor as previously described (CAVALCANTI-LIRA et al, 2013;CHRISTOPHER;MARUSIC, 2013;VINTHER;ROSENBERG, 2012). We considered investigating the contribution of the four most productive Englishspeaking countries according to Scimago (SCIMAGO, 2015) in the generation of these documents.…”