The IP & Science business of Thomson Reuters has released its report, 'Research Fronts 2013: 100 Top Ranked Specialties in the Sciences and Social Sciences,' identifying 100 important research areas across multiple fields of science.
By examining highly cited research papers from 2007 through 2012, Thomson Reuters identified research fronts built on recently published 'core,' or foundational, journal articles. These research fronts were segmented into 10 broad fields of science and social sciences, and a top 10 listing was provided for each. A research front consists of a group of highly cited core papers and the more recent literature that frequently co-cites these papers. They define specialty areas of contemporary research.
Climate change is a theme that appeared in several of the research fronts identified in the study. Specifically, the effects of climate change are present in the areas of Agricultural, Plant and Animal Sciences; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Geosciences; and, Economics, Psychology and other Social Sciences.
Data from Thomson Reuters Essential Science Indicators, a unique compilation of science performance statistics and trend data based on journal article publication counts and citation data from across Thomson Reuters science databases, was used to identify the fronts.
Interested parties may access the full Thomson Reuters Research Fronts 2013 paper on ScienceWatch.com, a Thomson Reuters open, web-based resource dedicated to scientific metrics and research performance analysis.
