The new study by the National Documentation Center (EKT) “Greek Scientific Publications 1998-2012: Bibliometric analysis of Greek publications in international scientific journals – Web of Science” captures the scientific writing activity of Greek institutions in international journals for the fifteen-year period 1998-2012 and highlights the position occupied by Greece in the international environment. The study, which is part of the now established series of studies carried out by the EKT, is available online at https://metrics.ekt.gr/report04 .
The new study draws data from the Web of Science database and comes in addition to the three previous EKT studies (two from Web of Science and one from Scopus), thus creating a continuous and reliable basis for the presentation and monitoring of the evolution of data related to Greek publications and their placement in the international environment (global, OECD and European Union).
New indicators and charts were added to this study, enriching the already large amount of data, while the electronic environment has new functionalities and capabilities. For example, the “organization profile” section was added where the indicators for each of the 78 organizations analyzed in the study are collected. Furthermore, users now have the ability to download the data presented in each chart in csv files so that they can use them in their own analyses.
The development of the online environment for the electronic version of the study was carried out within the framework of the operation “National Research and Technology Information System/Social Networks – User-Generated Content” implemented by the European Fund for Economic and Social Development within the framework of the Operational Programme “Digital Convergence” (ESRF 2007-2013), with the co-financing of Greece and the European Union-European Regional Development Fund.
The results of the study
According to the results of the study, the decline observed in the Greek production of scientific publications in the period 2009-2010 was halted in 2011, where an increase was observed, as in 2012.
Specifically, in 2012, 11,138 Greek scientific publications were recorded in international scientific journals indexed by the Web of Science system. After the slight decline recorded in 2010, the number of Greek scientific publications is again on an upward trend.
Based on the number of publications in relation to national R&D expenditure and research potential in the country, Greece ranks first among EU countries, indicating a high “productivity” of the Greek research system in terms of the production of scientific publications. In terms of the number of publications for each million monetary unit spent on R&D in EU countries, Greece ranks third, following Croatia and Romania. Also, in terms of the number of publications per full-time equivalent researcher for each country, Greece ranks sixth, following the Netherlands, Croatia, Italy, Ireland and Sweden.
In terms of appeal, originality, quality and recognition, Greek publications are positioned dynamically in the international environment, since citations to Greek publications have an increasing trend, showing higher growth rates compared to EU and OECD countries.
At the same time, the country's participation in the number of citations in the EU and the OECD is increasing, as are the shares of citations. Specifically, in the last five years 2008-2012, Greek publications received 279,178 citations, a number almost four times higher than in the five years 1998-2002. Also, in the same five years, the share of citations of Greek publications in the EU is 2.20% and in the OECD 1.03%.
Another indicator linked to the originality and quality of research work and the recognition of scientific authors is the percentage of publications that receive citations. After a continuous upward trend throughout the fifteen-year period 1998-2012, in the five-year period 2008-2012 this percentage for Greek publications reaches 68.3% and exceeds the percentage of the EU (67.8%) and the OECD (67.7%).
The publications with the highest impact
In the last five years 2008-2012, Greek publications received an average of 5.23 citations per publication, while the average citations per publication in the EU is 5.70 and in the OECD 5.71. It is noteworthy that the impact index of Greek publications is constantly increasing and even at a faster rate than the impact indices of EU and OECD countries.
On the other hand, the relative impact index of Greek publications - which indicates whether the average number of citations received by Greek publications approaches the average number of citations in publications of EU or OECD member countries - continues its upward trend throughout the period 1998-2012, approaching the average indicators of the EU and OECD. Based on the relative impact index (0.92), in the five-year period 2008-2012 Greece is in 23rd place among the 32 OECD member countries
Regarding the bibliometric indicators that record the existence of high impact for publications (number or percentage of all publications ranked globally in the 1%, 5%, 10%, 25% and 50% of publications with the highest impact per year and thematic area), the corresponding distribution of Greek publications was 1.2%, 5.4%, 10.2%, 23.2% and 43.5%. This development is particularly important for the country's scientific production, since when the percentage distribution of publications with high impact of a country approaches or exceeds the global distribution (1%, 5%, 10%, 25% and 50%), the country is considered to approach or exceed the global average. Greece exceeds the global average in the categories 1%, 5% and 10%. 
The participation/leadership of Greek scientists in high-impact publications is also significant. In 32.6% of publications with Greek participation that belong to the top 1%, the first author comes from a Greek institution. In the top 5% this percentage rises to 46.4% and in the top 10% to 53.5%.
Who produces the most scientific publications?
For the period 2008-2012, the three most important categories of Greek institutions in terms of the number of publications are Universities, Research Centers supervised by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology, and Public Hospitals. Throughout the period, the evolution of the indicators concerning the impact of publications is positive for the individual categories of institutions and is in line with the rise of the relevant indicators of all Greek publications.
Regarding the percentage of publications with references, the research centers supervised by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology lead the way, followed by private non-profit institutions, private healthcare institutions, and universities.
Publications originating from Research Centers supervised by the GSRT and Universities achieve a higher impact than the global average, with relative impact indices of 1.33 and 1.03 respectively (Chart 3.3.1). Other Educational Institutions (1.02), Public Research Institutions (1.02), and Private Healthcare Institutions (1.00) are very close. (When the value of the relative impact index is greater than 1, publications in the corresponding category have a higher impact than the global average).
It is worth noting that all categories of institutions are increasing the collaborations carried out with Greek and foreign researchers for the production of publications.
Which scientific fields dominate?
To capture research activity in scientific fields, the six main scientific fields were used: Natural Sciences, Engineering & Technology, Medical & Health Sciences, Agricultural Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities, as well as their subcategories, according to the relevant OECD Frascati Manual.
In the five-year period 2008-2012, the relative impact indices of Greek publications in all major scientific fields recorded an increase compared to the five-year period 2006-2010 presented in the immediately previous EKT study. The relative impact indices in the five-year period 2008-2012 are close to or even exceed the global average, with values ranging from 0.81 to 1.09 (a relative impact index greater than 1 indicates that the impact of Greek publications is greater than the global average).
The impact of publications in the scientific fields of “Physical Sciences” and “Mechanics & Technology” over this five-year period is significant, with impact indices higher than the global average (1.09 and 1.06 respectively). This is followed by the scientific fields of “Agricultural Sciences” with a relative impact index of 0.94, “Medicine & Health Sciences” with a relative impact index of 0.93, “Humanities” with a relative impact index of 0.90 and “Social Sciences” with a relative impact index of 0.81.
Who do Greek researchers collaborate with?
Regarding scientific collaborations for the production of Greek publications, the period 1998-2012 shows a continuous increase. At the international level, the largest number of collaborations is recorded with the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy.
Collaborations have a positive impact on the impact of scientific publications. A relevant analysis carried out as part of the EKT study shows that in all scientific fields, the relevant impact index is significantly higher in the cases of publications that have been produced following international collaboration. Correspondingly, in almost all cases the impact index of publications with domestic collaboration is – even if slightly – higher than that of publications that have been produced without collaboration.
Internet addresses
Study “Greek Scientific Publications 1998-2012: Bibliometric analysis of Greek publications in international scientific journals – Web of Science”
https://metrics.ekt.gr/report04
Research, Development, Innovation Indicators
