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Is concentration of university research associated with better research performance?

Author

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  • Moed, Henk F.
  • de Moya-Anegón, Félix
  • López-Illescas, Carmen
  • Visser, Martijn

Abstract

This paper analyses relationships between university research performance and concentration of university research. Using the number of publications and their citation impact extracted from Scopus as proxies of research activity and research performance, respectively, it examines at a national level for 40 major countries the distribution of published research articles among its universities, and at an institutional level for a global set of 1500 universities the distribution of papers among 16 main subject fields.

Suggested Citation

  • Moed, Henk F. & de Moya-Anegón, Félix & López-Illescas, Carmen & Visser, Martijn, 2011. "Is concentration of university research associated with better research performance?," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 649-658.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:infome:v:5:y:2011:i:4:p:649-658
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joi.2011.06.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jamil Salmi, 2009. "The Challenge of Establishing World-Class Universities," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2600, December.
    2. Carmen López-Illescas & Félix Moya-Anegón & Henk F. Moed, 2011. "A ranking of universities should account for differences in their disciplinary specialization," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 88(2), pages 563-574, August.
    3. Anthony F. J. van Raan, 2005. "Fatal attraction: Conceptual and methodological problems in the ranking of universities by bibliometric methods," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 62(1), pages 133-143, January.
    4. Clara Calero-Medina & Carmen López-Illescas & Martijn S Visser & Henk F Moed, 2008. "Important factors when interpreting bibliometric rankings of world universities: an example from oncology," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(1), pages 71-81, March.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Alona Zharova & Janine Tellinger-Rice & Wolfgang Karl Härdle, 2018. "How to Measure a Performance of a Collaborative Research Centre," SFB 649 Discussion Papers SFB649DP2018-001, Sonderforschungsbereich 649, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
    2. Daraio, Cinzia & Bonaccorsi, Andrea & Simar, Léopold, 2015. "Efficiency and economies of scale and specialization in European universities: A directional distance approach," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 430-448.
    3. An, Lu & Yu, Chuanming & Li, Gang, 2014. "Visual topical analysis of Chinese and American Library and Information Science research institutions," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 217-233.
    4. Nicolás Robinson-García & Daniel Torres-Salinas & Emilio Delgado López-Cózar & Francisco Herrera, 2014. "An insight into the importance of national university rankings in an international context: the case of the I-UGR rankings of Spanish universities," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 101(2), pages 1309-1324, November.
    5. Alona Zharova & Janine Tellinger-Rice & Wolfgang Karl Härdle, 2018. "How to measure the performance of a Collaborative Research Center," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(2), pages 1023-1040, November.
    6. Guo Chen & Lu Xiao & Chang-ping Hu & Xue-qin Zhao, 2015. "Identifying the research focus of Library and Information Science institutions in China with institution-specific keywords," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 103(2), pages 707-724, May.
    7. Confraria, Hugo & Mira Godinho, Manuel & Wang, Lili, 2017. "Determinants of citation impact: A comparative analysis of the Global South versus the Global North," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 265-279.
    8. Andrea Bonaccorsi & Cinzia Daraio & Leopold Simar, 2014. "Efficiency and economies of scale and scope in European universities. A directional distance approach," DIAG Technical Reports 2014-08, Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Universita' degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza".
    9. Félix Moya-Anegón & Carmen López-Illescas & Henk F. Moed, 2014. "How to interpret the position of private sector institutions in bibliometric rankings of research institutions," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 98(1), pages 283-298, January.
    10. Andrea Bonaccorsi & Cinzia Daraio & Léopold Simar, 2014. "Scale and research specialization in European universities: a directional distance approach to teaching efficiency," Chapters, in: Andrea Bonaccorsi (ed.), Knowledge, Diversity and Performance in European Higher Education, chapter 10, pages iii-iii, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Zaida Chinchilla-Rodríguez & Grisel Zacca-González & Benjamín Vargas-Quesada & Félix Moya-Anegón, 2016. "Benchmarking scientific performance by decomposing leadership of Cuban and Latin American institutions in Public Health," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 106(3), pages 1239-1264, March.
    12. Alona Zharova & Wolfgang K. Härdle & Stefan Lessmann, 2017. "Is Scientific Performance a Function of Funds?," SFB 649 Discussion Papers SFB649DP2017-028, Sonderforschungsbereich 649, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
    13. Berbegal-Mirabent, Jasmina & Gil-Doménech, Dolors & de la Torre, Rocío, 2019. "Dealing with heterogeneity: An analysis of Spanish universities," TEC Empresarial, School of Business, Costa Rica Institute of Technology (ITCR), vol. 13(3), pages 58-77.
    14. Domingo Docampo & Lawrence Cram, 2017. "Academic performance and institutional resources: a cross-country analysis of research universities," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(2), pages 739-764, February.
    15. Lu An & Xia Lin & Chuanming Yu & Xinwen Zhang, 2015. "Measuring and visualizing the contributions of Chinese and American LIS research institutions to emerging themes and salient themes," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 105(3), pages 1605-1634, December.
    16. Andrea Bonaccorsi (ed.), 2014. "Knowledge, Diversity and Performance in European Higher Education," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15266.
    17. Sumeer Gul & Nahida Tun Nisa & Tariq Ahmad Shah & Sangita Gupta & Asifa Jan & Suhail Ahmad, 2015. "Middle East: research productivity and performance across nations," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 105(2), pages 1157-1166, November.
    18. Andrea Bonaccorsi & Luca Secondi, 2017. "The determinants of research performance in European universities: a large scale multilevel analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 112(3), pages 1147-1178, September.
    19. José Manuel Pastor & Lorenzo Serrano & Irene Zaera, 2015. "The research output of European higher education institutions," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 102(3), pages 1867-1893, March.
    20. Pasqualino Montanaro & Roberto Torrini, 2014. "The Italian system of public research," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 219, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    21. Fredrik Niclas Piro, 2019. "The R&D composition of European countries: concentrated versus dispersed profiles," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 119(2), pages 1095-1119, May.
    22. Mauro G. Carta & Matthias C. Angermeyer & Silvano Tagliagambe, 2021. "The Trend of Scientific Productivity of Chinese, European Union, and United States Universities and Private Companies: Does the Future Belong to E-Technology Companies?," Publications, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-14, April.

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