Business information provider Thomson Reuters, US, has released a study that seeks to examine the resurgence in scientific progress in the Middle East. It identifies the fields of research contributing to the resurgence while studying the need for change in order to continue the region's recent growth and global scientific presence. Although the Middle East produces only 4 percent of the world's scientific literature, its output is seen to have grown rapidly over the past 10 years.
The study, "Exploring the Changing Landscape of Arabian, Persian and Turkish Research", includes a foreword from Ahmed Zewail, Nobel Laureate and professor of chemistry and physics, California Institute of Technology. Prof. Zewail spells out his three essential ingredients for scientific progress in the region: expanding educational opportunities, increasing freedom through the reform of national constitutions, and establishing centres of excellence in science and technology in each nation.
Research output for the 14 countries analysed in the report increased from 760,000 to more than 1,160,000 publications during the 10-year period. Although the region's scientific output is now growing at a faster rate than any other region, it is doing so from a low and concentrated base where the five largest producers - Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan - currently account for 90 percent of the regional output.
When looking at the influence of scientific literature, as measured by citation impact, the study notes that the five largest producers in the region achieved only half the world average. Influence is improving, however, and in certain fields some nations exceed the world average, making it into the top 1 percent of highly cited papers. These include Egypt and Saudi Arabia in mathematics and Turkey in engineering.
Collaboration (co-authorship) within the region and with nations beyond the Middle East is reportedly below what is typically observed elsewhere. Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia collaborate across their borders on about 40 percent of their publications, while Iran and Turkey do so about half as much or less, the report noted. The US is generally the most frequent research partner followed by the UK and Germany. Egypt, the report observes, holds a pivotal role within the region and serves as a bridge with Europe, North Africa and into the US and Japan.
The study is part of the Global Research Report series from Thomson Reuters that seeks to illustrate the changing landscape and dynamics of scientific research around the world. These studies draw on data found in Web of Science, available on the Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge platform.
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