IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/scient/v126y2021i9d10.1007_s11192-021-04077-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What is the relationship between research funding and citation-based performance? A comparative analysis between critical disciplines

Author

Listed:
  • Saeed Roshani

    (Allameh Tabataba’i University)

  • Mohammad-Reza Bagherylooieh

    (Allameh Tabataba’i University)

  • Melika Mosleh

    (University of Birmingham)

  • Mario Coccia

    (CNR—National Research Council of Italy Collegio Carlo Alberto, Via Real Collegio)

Abstract

The goal of the study here is to model and analyze the relation between research funding and citation-based performance in science to predict the diffusion of new scientific results in society. In fact, an important problem in the field of scientometrics is to explain factors determining the growth of citations in documents that can increase the diffusion of scientific results and the impact of science on society. The study here confronts this problem by developing a scientometric analysis to clarify, whenever possible, the relation between research funding and citations of articles in critical disciplines. Data of 2015 retrieved from the Web of Science database relating to the three critical disciplines given by computer science, medicine and economics are analyzed. Results suggest that computer science journals published more funded than unfunded papers. Medicine journals published equally funded and unfunded documents, and finally economics journals published more unfunded than funded papers. In addition, funded documents received more citations than unfunded papers in all three disciplines under study. The study also finds that citations in funded, unfunded and total (funded + unfunded) papers follow a power-law distribution in different disciplines. Another novel finding is that for all disciplines under study, the Matthew effect is greater for funded articles compared to unfunded documents. The results here can support best practices of research policy directed to fund vital scientific research for increasing the diffusion of science and scientific findings in society.

Suggested Citation

  • Saeed Roshani & Mohammad-Reza Bagherylooieh & Melika Mosleh & Mario Coccia, 2021. "What is the relationship between research funding and citation-based performance? A comparative analysis between critical disciplines," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(9), pages 7859-7874, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:126:y:2021:i:9:d:10.1007_s11192-021-04077-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-021-04077-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11192-021-04077-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11192-021-04077-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. J Sylvan Katz, 2016. "What Is a Complex Innovation System?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(6), pages 1-24, June.
    2. Ji-ping Gao & Cheng Su & Hai-yan Wang & Li-hua Zhai & Yun-tao Pan, 2019. "Research fund evaluation based on academic publication output analysis: the case of Chinese research fund evaluation," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 119(2), pages 959-972, May.
    3. Guillermo Armando Ronda-Pupo & J. Sylvan Katz, 2018. "The power law relationship between citation impact and multi-authorship patterns in articles in Information Science & Library Science journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 114(3), pages 919-932, March.
    4. Star X. Zhao & Wen Lou & Alice M. Tan & Shuang Yu, 2018. "Do funded papers attract more usage?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(1), pages 153-168, April.
    5. Mario Coccia, 2020. "The evolution of scientific disciplines in applied sciences: dynamics and empirical properties of experimental physics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 124(1), pages 451-487, July.
    6. Anthony F.J. van Raan, 2008. "Bibliometric statistical properties of the 100 largest European research universities: Prevalent scaling rules in the science system," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 59(3), pages 461-475, February.
    7. Jue Wang & Philip Shapira, 2011. "Funding acknowledgement analysis: an enhanced tool to investigate research sponsorship impacts: the case of nanotechnology," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 87(3), pages 563-586, June.
    8. Anthony F.J. van Raan, 2006. "Statistical properties of bibliometric indicators: Research group indicator distributions and correlations," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 57(3), pages 408-430, February.
    9. Mario Coccia & Barry Bozeman, 2016. "Allometric models to measure and analyze the evolution of international research collaboration," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 108(3), pages 1065-1084, September.
    10. Jeff Alstott & Ed Bullmore & Dietmar Plenz, 2014. "powerlaw: A Python Package for Analysis of Heavy-Tailed Distributions," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, January.
    11. Mario Coccia, 2018. "General properties of the evolution of research fields: a scientometric study of human microbiome, evolutionary robotics and astrobiology," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(2), pages 1265-1283, November.
    12. J Sylvan Katz, 2000. "Scale-independent indicators and research evaluation," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 27(1), pages 23-36, February.
    13. Gillespie, Colin S., 2015. "Fitting Heavy Tailed Distributions: The poweRlaw Package," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 64(i02).
    14. Jacob, Brian A. & Lefgren, Lars, 2011. "The impact of research grant funding on scientific productivity," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(9), pages 1168-1177.
    15. Coccia, Mario, 2019. "Why do nations produce science advances and new technology?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    16. Mario Coccia, 2005. "A scientometric model for the assessment of scientific research performance within public institutes," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 65(3), pages 307-321, December.
    17. Mario Coccia & Greta Falavigna & Alessandro Manello, 2015. "The impact of hybrid public and market-oriented financing mechanisms on the scientific portfolio and performances of public research labs: a scientometric analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 102(1), pages 151-168, January.
    18. Guillermo Armando Ronda-Pupo, 2017. "The citation-based impact of complex innovation systems scales with the size of the system," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 112(1), pages 141-151, July.
    19. Erjia Yan & Chaojiang Wu & Min Song, 2018. "The funding factor: a cross-disciplinary examination of the association between research funding and citation impact," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(1), pages 369-384, April.
    20. Ye, Fred Y. & Rousseau, Ronald, 2008. "The power law model and total career h-index sequences," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 2(4), pages 288-297.
    21. Fernanda Morillo, 2020. "Is open access publication useful for all research fields? Presence of funding, collaboration and impact," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(1), pages 689-716, October.
    22. Abdullah Gök & John Rigby & Philip Shapira, 2016. "The impact of research funding on scientific outputs: Evidence from six smaller European countries," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 67(3), pages 715-730, March.
    23. John Rigby, 2013. "Looking for the impact of peer review: does count of funding acknowledgements really predict research impact?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 94(1), pages 57-73, January.
    24. Guillermo Armando Ronda-Pupo & J. Sylvan Katz, 2016. "The scaling relationship between citation-based performance and international collaboration of Cuban articles in natural sciences," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 107(3), pages 1423-1434, June.
    25. Derek De Solla Price, 1976. "A general theory of bibliometric and other cumulative advantage processes," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 27(5), pages 292-306, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Coccia, Mario, 2022. "Probability of discoveries between research fields to explain scientific and technological change," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Melika Mosleh & Saeed Roshani & Mario Coccia, 2022. "Scientific laws of research funding to support citations and diffusion of knowledge in life science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(4), pages 1931-1951, April.
    3. Mario Coccia, 2021. "Evolution and structure of research fields driven by crises and environmental threats: the COVID-19 research," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(12), pages 9405-9429, December.
    4. Adriana Bin & Sergio Salles-Filho & Ana Carolina Spatti & Jesús Pascual Mena-Chalco & Fernando Antonio Basile Colugnati, 2022. "How much does a Ph.D. scholarship program impact an emerging economy research performance?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(12), pages 6935-6960, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Melika Mosleh & Saeed Roshani & Mario Coccia, 2022. "Scientific laws of research funding to support citations and diffusion of knowledge in life science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(4), pages 1931-1951, April.
    2. Guillermo Armando Ronda-Pupo & J. Sylvan Katz, 2018. "The power law relationship between citation impact and multi-authorship patterns in articles in Information Science & Library Science journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 114(3), pages 919-932, March.
    3. Guillermo Armando Ronda-Pupo, 2017. "The effect of document types and sizes on the scaling relationship between citations and co-authorship patterns in management journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(3), pages 1191-1207, March.
    4. Weishu Liu & Li Tang & Guangyuan Hu, 2020. "Funding information in Web of Science: an updated overview," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 122(3), pages 1509-1524, March.
    5. Zhou Mo & Zhang Yujie & Lei Jiasu & Tan Xiaowen, 2022. "Early firm engagement, government research funding, and the privatization of public knowledge," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(8), pages 4797-4826, August.
    6. Belén Álvarez-Bornstein & Adrián A. Díaz-Faes & María Bordons, 2019. "What characterises funded biomedical research? Evidence from a basic and a clinical domain," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 119(2), pages 805-825, May.
    7. Esma J. Doğramacı & Giampiero Rossi-Fedele, 2021. "Predictors of societal and professional impact of orthodontic research. A multivariate, scientometric approach," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(11), pages 9223-9248, November.
    8. Guillermo Armando Ronda-Pupo & J. Sylvan Katz, 2017. "The scaling relationship between degree centrality of countries and their citation-based performance on Management Information Systems," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 112(3), pages 1285-1299, September.
    9. Alberto Corsini & Michele Pezzoni, 2022. "Does grant funding foster research impact? Evidence from France," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03912647, HAL.
    10. Daniele Rotolo & Michael Hopkins & Nicola Grassano, 2023. "Do funding sources complement or substitute? Examining the impact of cancer research publications," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 74(1), pages 50-66, January.
    11. Erjia Yan & Chaojiang Wu & Min Song, 2018. "The funding factor: a cross-disciplinary examination of the association between research funding and citation impact," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(1), pages 369-384, April.
    12. Alberto Corsini & Michele Pezzoni, 2022. "Does grant funding foster research impact? Evidence from France," Working Papers hal-03912647, HAL.
    13. Corsini, Alberto & Pezzoni, Michele, 2023. "Does grant funding foster research impact? Evidence from France," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 17(4).
    14. Li, Heyang & Wu, Meijun & Wang, Yougui & Zeng, An, 2022. "Bibliographic coupling networks reveal the advantage of diversification in scientific projects," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3).
    15. Mario Coccia, 2019. "Metabolism of Public Research Organizations: How Do Laboratories Consume State Subsidies?," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 473-491, December.
    16. Ji-ping Gao & Cheng Su & Hai-yan Wang & Li-hua Zhai & Yun-tao Pan, 2019. "Research fund evaluation based on academic publication output analysis: the case of Chinese research fund evaluation," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 119(2), pages 959-972, May.
    17. Balázs Győrffy & Andrea Magda Nagy & Péter Herman & Ádám Török, 2018. "Factors influencing the scientific performance of Momentum grant holders: an evaluation of the first 117 research groups," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(1), pages 409-426, October.
    18. Nicola Grassano & Daniele Rotolo & Joshua Hutton & Frédérique Lang & Michael M. Hopkins, 2017. "Funding Data from Publication Acknowledgments: Coverage, Uses, and Limitations," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 68(4), pages 999-1017, April.
    19. Guillermo Armando Ronda-Pupo, 2020. "The performance of Latin American research on economics & business," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 122(1), pages 573-590, January.
    20. Jinyang Dong & Jiamou Liu & Tiezhong Liu, 2021. "The impact of top scientists on the community development of basic research directed by government funding: evidence from program 973 in China," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(10), pages 8561-8579, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:126:y:2021:i:9:d:10.1007_s11192-021-04077-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.