The Scientific business of Thomson Reuters, US, has announced a strategic partnership with the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (ISTIC). Under the deal, both parties will establish the ISTIC-Thomson Reuters Joint Lab for Scientometrics Research. The ISTIC-Thomson Reuters Joint Lab for Scientometrics Research, located within ISTIC, is China's first laboratory for Scientometrics Research.
Both ISTIC and Thomson Reuters will jointly manage the laboratory and work together to accelerate the scientometrics research in China. They will collaborate on research projects and engage in studies of research performance evaluation and science policy support areas. Both the theoretical research and applied study in the field of scientometrics will be conducted in the joint lab. The jointly funded laboratory seeks to provide a platform for China's scientometrics research community to enhance scholarly communication and research collaboration, and provide them with a wealth of scientific literature resources and data analysis tools.
The ISTIC-Thomson Reuters Joint Lab for Scientometrics Research will focus on fostering and strengthening China's academic exchange with the international scientometrics community and organise regular international seminars to which internationally renowned scientometricians and experts will be invited. The Chief Scientist of the Scientific business of Thomson Reuters, and ex-president of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics (ISSI), Dr. Henry Small, is a founding member of the laboratory.
Established in 1956, ISTIC is China's national research institution of scientific and technical information, which provides critical and important information to support the Ministry of Science & Technology's national strategy and decision-making for developing China's science and technology. ISTIC and the Scientific business have been collaborating for a long time on the use of Thomson Reuters' Science Citation Index (SCI) data and Derwent World Patents Index data(DWPI) for analysis of China's output and performance on the basis of science and technology research and development.
Recent years have seen an increase in the purchasing of foreign-language journals by the Chinese. This has created much interest in the market for overseas scholarly publishers. Last month, US-based search solutions provider Deep Web Technologies had announced the addition of essential Chinese research to WorldWideScience.org, the WorldWideScience Alliance's global science gateway. The move was expected to significantly increase the use of Chinese research by the global community. Prior to that, the US' Library of Congress announced an agreement with the National Library of China to cooperate in developing the World Digital Library, which is scheduled for launch in April 2009. Earlier this month, the Derwent World Patents Index (DWPI) database registered its millionth patent in 2008. The millionth patent application was from ZTE Corporation, a Chinese company located in the Guangdong province in South China, and describes an improved cell phone user interface.
