No free lunches in nature? An analysis of the regional distribution of the affiliations of Nature publications

Jacek Bogocz, Andrzej Bak and Jaroslaw Polanski ()
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Jacek Bogocz: University of Silesia
Andrzej Bak: University of Silesia
Jaroslaw Polanski: University of Silesia

Scientometrics, 2014, vol. 101, issue 1, No 25, 547-568

Abstract: Abstract Nature is among the world’s most highly cited multidisciplinary science journals with one of the highest impact factors of 38.597 (Nature Publishing Group (NPG) 2013), which is used relatively often in many scientific rankings. When analysing the regional distribution of Nature publications, we found a high correlation between the expenditures and the number of local affiliations that are counted on a national basis. The same regularity can be observed for the world’s top 30 and the US’s top 50 universities; however, the correlation is now skewed by the so-called cumulative advantage or the Matthew Effect, which evidently rewards those that are ranked at the top of the Academic Ranking of World Universities. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Surprisingly, the amount of the endowment better determines the number of Nature publications for universities than the total research expenditure.

Keywords: Nature publications; Academic Ranking of World Universities; Matthew Effect; Higher education expenditures (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11192-014-1252-4

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