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Thought leadership: A new indicator for national and institutional comparison

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Abstract

This paper introduces a new method for evaluating national publication activities. This new indicator, thought leadership, captures whether the nation is a thought leader (building on the more recently cited literature for that field) or follower (building on the older cited literature for that field). Publication data for 2003 are used to illustrate which nations tend to build on the more recent discoveries in chemistry and clinical medicine. Implications for national and laboratory policy are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SciTech Strategies, Inc., Berwyn, PA, 19312, USA

    Richard Klavans

  2. Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Kevin W. Boyack

  3. SciTech Strategies Inc., Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Kevin W. Boyack

Authors
  1. Richard Klavans
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  2. Kevin W. Boyack
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Correspondence to Richard Klavans.

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Klavans, R., Boyack, K.W. Thought leadership: A new indicator for national and institutional comparison. Scientometrics 75, 239–250 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-007-1854-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-007-1854-1

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