Trends in Research Productivity

A recent work on research productivity prepared by Oxford Economy for Merck in November 2021 analyses research productivity of universities and universities of applied sciences world wide and identifies trends and factors. Further references on the development of and trends  in research productivity are given in the reference section below.

References

• Bonaccorsi, Andrea ; Belingheri, Paola ; Secondi, Luca:The research productivity of universities. A multilevel and multidisciplinary analysis on European institutions. In: Journal of Informetrics vol. 15 (2021), Nr. 2, p. 101129

  AbstractURLBibTeXEndNoteDOIBibSonomy

  The paper makes use of a novel dataset at European level which includes data on academic staff and students of universities from official National Statistical Authorities, bibliometric indicators on publications, and socio-economic indicators at regional level. The dataset covers all European countries. The unit of analysis is a combination between teaching activities at the level of Field of Education and publications classified by Field of Science, resulting in five major integrated areas of STEM (Science; Engineering; Computer Science; Agriculture; Medicine). Using a multilevel modeling framework and comparing results across disciplinary areas the paper finds strong support for peer effects at institutional level and for the positive effect of international collaborations and attraction of foreign PhD students. It does not find support for economies of scale in research, institutional age, specialization effects and private vs private governance. The external regional environment has an impact on research productivity only in applied disciplines.

  @article{BONACCORSI2021101129,
  abstract = {The paper makes use of a novel dataset at European level which includes data on academic staff and students of universities from official National Statistical Authorities, bibliometric indicators on publications, and socio-economic indicators at regional level. The dataset covers all European countries. The unit of analysis is a combination between teaching activities at the level of Field of Education and publications classified by Field of Science, resulting in five major integrated areas of STEM (Science; Engineering; Computer Science; Agriculture; Medicine). Using a multilevel modeling framework and comparing results across disciplinary areas the paper finds strong support for peer effects at institutional level and for the positive effect of international collaborations and attraction of foreign PhD students. It does not find support for economies of scale in research, institutional age, specialization effects and private vs private governance. The external regional environment has an impact on research productivity only in applied disciplines.},
  author = {Bonaccorsi, Andrea and Belingheri, Paola and Secondi, Luca},
  journal = {Journal of Informetrics},
  keywords = {universities},
  number = 2,
  pages = 101129,
  title = {The research productivity of universities. A multilevel and multidisciplinary analysis on European institutions},
  volume = 15,
  year = 2021
  }
  

  %0 Journal Article
  %1 BONACCORSI2021101129
  %A Bonaccorsi, Andrea
  %A Belingheri, Paola
  %A Secondi, Luca
  %D 2021
  %J Journal of Informetrics
  %N 2
  %P 101129
  %R https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2020.101129
  %T The research productivity of universities. A multilevel and multidisciplinary analysis on European institutions
  %U https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751157720306465
  %V 15
  %X The paper makes use of a novel dataset at European level which includes data on academic staff and students of universities from official National Statistical Authorities, bibliometric indicators on publications, and socio-economic indicators at regional level. The dataset covers all European countries. The unit of analysis is a combination between teaching activities at the level of Field of Education and publications classified by Field of Science, resulting in five major integrated areas of STEM (Science; Engineering; Computer Science; Agriculture; Medicine). Using a multilevel modeling framework and comparing results across disciplinary areas the paper finds strong support for peer effects at institutional level and for the positive effect of international collaborations and attraction of foreign PhD students. It does not find support for economies of scale in research, institutional age, specialization effects and private vs private governance. The external regional environment has an impact on research productivity only in applied disciplines.
  

• Cauwels, Peter ; Sornette, Didier:Are ‘flow of ideas’ and ‘research productivity’ in secular decline?. In: Technological Forecasting and Social Change vol. 174 (2022), p. 121267

  AbstractURLBibTeXEndNoteDOIBibSonomy

  It is widely held true that fundamental scientific knowledge has been accelerating exponentially over the past centuries and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Moreover, endogenous growth theory postulates that this exponential accumulation of knowledge is the main source of the ubiquitous exponential economic growth. We test these claims by constructing two new series of knowledge indices, one representing the historical evolution of the Flow of Ideas, the other one giving a measure of Research Productivity, by combining Krebs (2008)s’ Encyclopaedia of Scientific Principles and Asimov (1989)’s Chronology of Science and Discovery. Three different geographical regions are covered: 1) Continental Europe, 2) the United Kingdom, and 3) the United States; and two disciplines: a) the physical sciences, and b) the life sciences. Starting in 1750, our indices reveal waves coinciding with the three industrial and technological revolutions, in particular in the United Kingdom. Our main result is that scientific knowledge has been in clear decline since the early 1970s for the Flow of Ideas and since the early 1950s for the Research Productivity, in the geographical regions and scientific disciplines covered by the indices. The decline is observed until the end of the dataset constructed by combining both Krebs’ encyclopaedia and Asimov's Chronology, that is 1988. Using only Krebs (2008)s’ Encyclopaedia of Scientific Principles, valid until 2007, the decline is further confirmed for the Research Productivity until 2007. Given the strong downward trends that we document up to 1988 for the combined dataset and which is also prominent in the Encyclopaedia of Scientific Principles until 2007, there is no visible sign of an inflection that would signal the initiation of a reversal. Overall, our results support the Kuhnian theory of knowledge creation through scientific revolutions, punctuation and paradigm shifts and falsify the gradualism that lies at the basis of the currently prevailing economic paradigm of endogenous growth.

  @article{CAUWELS2022121267,
  abstract = {It is widely held true that fundamental scientific knowledge has been accelerating exponentially over the past centuries and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Moreover, endogenous growth theory postulates that this exponential accumulation of knowledge is the main source of the ubiquitous exponential economic growth. We test these claims by constructing two new series of knowledge indices, one representing the historical evolution of the Flow of Ideas, the other one giving a measure of Research Productivity, by combining Krebs (2008)s’ Encyclopaedia of Scientific Principles and Asimov (1989)’s Chronology of Science and Discovery. Three different geographical regions are covered: 1) Continental Europe, 2) the United Kingdom, and 3) the United States; and two disciplines: a) the physical sciences, and b) the life sciences. Starting in 1750, our indices reveal waves coinciding with the three industrial and technological revolutions, in particular in the United Kingdom. Our main result is that scientific knowledge has been in clear decline since the early 1970s for the Flow of Ideas and since the early 1950s for the Research Productivity, in the geographical regions and scientific disciplines covered by the indices. The decline is observed until the end of the dataset constructed by combining both Krebs’ encyclopaedia and Asimov's Chronology, that is 1988. Using only Krebs (2008)s’ Encyclopaedia of Scientific Principles, valid until 2007, the decline is further confirmed for the Research Productivity until 2007. Given the strong downward trends that we document up to 1988 for the combined dataset and which is also prominent in the Encyclopaedia of Scientific Principles until 2007, there is no visible sign of an inflection that would signal the initiation of a reversal. Overall, our results support the Kuhnian theory of knowledge creation through scientific revolutions, punctuation and paradigm shifts and falsify the gradualism that lies at the basis of the currently prevailing economic paradigm of endogenous growth.},
  author = {Cauwels, Peter and Sornette, Didier},
  journal = {Technological Forecasting and Social Change},
  keywords = {revolutions},
  pages = 121267,
  title = {Are ‘flow of ideas’ and ‘research productivity’ in secular decline?},
  volume = 174,
  year = 2022
  }
  

  %0 Journal Article
  %1 CAUWELS2022121267
  %A Cauwels, Peter
  %A Sornette, Didier
  %D 2022
  %J Technological Forecasting and Social Change
  %P 121267
  %R https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121267
  %T Are ‘flow of ideas’ and ‘research productivity’ in secular decline?
  %U https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162521007010
  %V 174
  %X It is widely held true that fundamental scientific knowledge has been accelerating exponentially over the past centuries and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Moreover, endogenous growth theory postulates that this exponential accumulation of knowledge is the main source of the ubiquitous exponential economic growth. We test these claims by constructing two new series of knowledge indices, one representing the historical evolution of the Flow of Ideas, the other one giving a measure of Research Productivity, by combining Krebs (2008)s’ Encyclopaedia of Scientific Principles and Asimov (1989)’s Chronology of Science and Discovery. Three different geographical regions are covered: 1) Continental Europe, 2) the United Kingdom, and 3) the United States; and two disciplines: a) the physical sciences, and b) the life sciences. Starting in 1750, our indices reveal waves coinciding with the three industrial and technological revolutions, in particular in the United Kingdom. Our main result is that scientific knowledge has been in clear decline since the early 1970s for the Flow of Ideas and since the early 1950s for the Research Productivity, in the geographical regions and scientific disciplines covered by the indices. The decline is observed until the end of the dataset constructed by combining both Krebs’ encyclopaedia and Asimov's Chronology, that is 1988. Using only Krebs (2008)s’ Encyclopaedia of Scientific Principles, valid until 2007, the decline is further confirmed for the Research Productivity until 2007. Given the strong downward trends that we document up to 1988 for the combined dataset and which is also prominent in the Encyclopaedia of Scientific Principles until 2007, there is no visible sign of an inflection that would signal the initiation of a reversal. Overall, our results support the Kuhnian theory of knowledge creation through scientific revolutions, punctuation and paradigm shifts and falsify the gradualism that lies at the basis of the currently prevailing economic paradigm of endogenous growth.
  

• Kivinen, Osmo ; Hedman, Juha ; Kaipainen, Päivi:Productivity analysis of research in Natural Sciences, Technology and Clinical Medicine: an input-output model applied in comparison of Top 300 ranked universities of 4 North European and 4 East Asian countries.. In: Scientometrics vol. 94 (2013), Nr. 2, pp. 683–699

  URLBibTeXEndNoteBibSonomy

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  author = {Kivinen, Osmo and Hedman, Juha and Kaipainen, Päivi},
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  number = 2,
  pages = {683-699},
  title = {Productivity analysis of research in Natural Sciences, Technology and Clinical Medicine: an input-output model applied in comparison of Top 300 ranked universities of 4 North European and 4 East Asian countries.},
  volume = 94,
  year = 2013
  }
  

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  %T Productivity analysis of research in Natural Sciences, Technology and Clinical Medicine: an input-output model applied in comparison of Top 300 ranked universities of 4 North European and 4 East Asian countries.
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  %V 94
  

• Long, Jane C. S. ; Loy, Frank ; Morgan, M. Granger:Policy: {Start} research on climate engineering. In: Nature News vol. 518 (2015), Nr. 7537, p. 29

  AbstractURLBibTeXEndNoteDOIBibSonomy

  Safe, small-scale experiments build trust and road-test governance, argue Jane C. S. Long, Frank Loy and M. Granger Morgan.

  @article{long_policy:_2015,
  abstract = {Safe, small-scale experiments build trust and road-test governance, argue Jane C. S. Long, Frank Loy and M. Granger Morgan.},
  author = {Long, Jane C. S. and Loy, Frank and Morgan, M. Granger},
  journal = {Nature News},
  keywords = {research},
  month = {feb},
  number = 7537,
  pages = 29,
  title = {Policy: {Start} research on climate engineering},
  volume = 518,
  year = 2015
  }
  

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  %A Loy, Frank
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  %R 10.1038/518029a
  %T Policy: {Start} research on climate engineering
  %U http://www.nature.com/news/policy-start-research-on-climate-engineering-1.16826
  %V 518
  %X Safe, small-scale experiments build trust and road-test governance, argue Jane C. S. Long, Frank Loy and M. Granger Morgan.
  

• Nguyen, Nguyen Danh ; Nguyen, Tue Dang ; Dao, Kien Trung:Effects of institutional policies and characteristics on research productivity at Vietnam science and technology universities. In: Heliyon vol. 7 (2021), Nr. 1, p. e06024

  AbstractURLBibTeXEndNoteDOIBibSonomy

  This study aimed to evaluate the impact of institutional research promoting policies and organizational characteristics on research productivity in Vietnam universities. The authors employed a dataset surveying faculty staff from 115 universities across the country and used multivariate data analysis to analyse data and test hypotheses. It was found that institutional characteristics such as size, time in operation and advantageous location were positively associated with research productivity. Specifically, universities located in the big cities with longer time in operation and larger size had higher level of international publication. Institutional policies such as management and infrastructure had a positive impact on research productivity while human resource policies had a positive impact on faculty research outcomes. The study also provided some suggestions to promote research productivity of Vietnam universities.

  @article{NGUYEN2021e06024,
  abstract = {This study aimed to evaluate the impact of institutional research promoting policies and organizational characteristics on research productivity in Vietnam universities. The authors employed a dataset surveying faculty staff from 115 universities across the country and used multivariate data analysis to analyse data and test hypotheses. It was found that institutional characteristics such as size, time in operation and advantageous location were positively associated with research productivity. Specifically, universities located in the big cities with longer time in operation and larger size had higher level of international publication. Institutional policies such as management and infrastructure had a positive impact on research productivity while human resource policies had a positive impact on faculty research outcomes. The study also provided some suggestions to promote research productivity of Vietnam universities.},
  author = {Nguyen, Nguyen Danh and Nguyen, Tue Dang and Dao, Kien Trung},
  journal = {Heliyon},
  keywords = {productivity,},
  number = 1,
  pages = {e06024},
  title = {Effects of institutional policies and characteristics on research productivity at Vietnam science and technology universities},
  volume = 7,
  year = 2021
  }
  

  %0 Journal Article
  %1 NGUYEN2021e06024
  %A Nguyen, Nguyen Danh
  %A Nguyen, Tue Dang
  %A Dao, Kien Trung
  %D 2021
  %J Heliyon
  %N 1
  %P e06024
  %R https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06024
  %T Effects of institutional policies and characteristics on research productivity at Vietnam science and technology universities
  %U https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021001298
  %V 7
  %X This study aimed to evaluate the impact of institutional research promoting policies and organizational characteristics on research productivity in Vietnam universities. The authors employed a dataset surveying faculty staff from 115 universities across the country and used multivariate data analysis to analyse data and test hypotheses. It was found that institutional characteristics such as size, time in operation and advantageous location were positively associated with research productivity. Specifically, universities located in the big cities with longer time in operation and larger size had higher level of international publication. Institutional policies such as management and infrastructure had a positive impact on research productivity while human resource policies had a positive impact on faculty research outcomes. The study also provided some suggestions to promote research productivity of Vietnam universities.