Pullman–Washington State University is ranked first in the nation when it comes to other institutions’ scientists recognizing and noting WSU research in their own scientific papers.
The ranking was published in the March 5 edition of “What’s New in Research,” an editorial component of Essential Science IndicatorsSM available at http://www.in-cites.com/research/2007/march_5_2007-2.html .
The ranking comes from a tally of the average number of citations per scientific paper published by the top 100 federally-funded U.S. universities that published at least 200 papers between 2001 and 2005. All papers were published in Thomson Scientific-indexed journals of veterinary medicine and animal health.
“In scientific publishing, scientists credit statements about important past research with a citation of the source of the information,” explained Warwick Bayly, dean of WSU’s veterinary college. “Only the very best quality scientific work is cited often and forms a foundation for continued success. In this case, WSU veterinary and animal health research was cited more often in other scientists’ peer-reviewed scientific papers than any other university’s work, including the biggest names in American higher education. This is simply one of the greatest recognitions WSU can have for
our scientific research and the unsurpassed quality of our researchers.”
“This external validation of our veterinary medical and animal health research illustrates the world-class expertise of our faculty,” said James Petersen, vice provost for research at WSU. “Their research improves the health of animals in the U.S. and has dramatic impacts on human and animal health in the developing world.”
During the ranking period, WSU veterinary research scientists published 238 qualifying papers with each being cited an average of 3.14 times in subsequent scientific publications. Trailing WSU’s ranking in order were Michigan State University, Ohio State University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Pennsylvania.
Each of the other universities noted has a significantly larger research faculty size making WSU’s publication per veterinary researcher ratio remarkably high while still maintaining the highest level of scientific citation.
WSU’s margin over the next ranked university was the largest of any.
Essential Science IndicatorsSM is a resource that quantifies research performance and track trends in science. The publication covers a multidisciplinary selection of more than 11,000 Thomson Scientific indexed journals from around the world. This in-depth analytical tool offers data for ranking scientists, institutions, countries, and journals.
Thomson Scientific publishes web-based information resources that track ongoing research to determine changes in the intellectual community as well as in the various scientific disciplines.
