Korean journals in the Science Citation Index:
What do they reveal about the intellectual structure of S&T in Korea?
Scientometrics (forthcoming)
click here for pdfHan Woo PARK
YeungNam University, Korea (South)
hanpark@ynu.ac.kr; parkhanwoo@hotmail.com
&
Loet Leydesdorff
Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam
Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
loet@leydesdorff.net; http://www.leydesdorff.net
Abstract
During the last decade, we have witnessed a sustained growth of South Korea’s research output in terms of the world share of publications in the Science Citation Index database. However, Korea’s citation performance is not yet as competitive as publication performance. In this study, the authors examine the intellectual structure of Korean S&T field based on social network analysis of journal-journal citation data using the ten Korean SCI journals as seed journals. The results reveal that Korean SCI journals function more like publication places, neither research channels nor information sources among national scientists. Thus, these journals may provide Korean scholars with access to international scientific communities by facilitating the respective entry barriers. However, there are no citation relations based on their Korean background. Furthermore, we intend to draw some policy implications which may be helpful to increase Korea’s research potential.
Keywords: Korea, science citation index, national journals, social network analysis, science and technology, citation network
Introduction
During the last decade, we have witnessed a sustained growth of South Korea’s research output in terms of the world share of publications in the Thomson ISI database. According to the Korean Institute of Science & Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP), there were 23,048 publications with at least one Korean address among the authors in the National Science Indicator 2006 of the Thomson ISI (KISTEP, 2006). Using the web-version of the Science Citation Index, we find higher numbers, but the linearly upward trend is very clear (Figure 1); Korea increases its percentage world share of publications with approximately 0.20 percent point each year (r 2> 0.99). In terms of the number of papers in the Science Citation Index journals, Korea occupied the 14th position in the year 2005. This means a jump from 21st place in the year 1996. In other words, the Science Citation contained about four times as many publications with a Korean address in 2006 (28,059) as in 1996 (7,158). Figure 1 shows that South Korea has gone up in percentage world share of publications from 0.99% in 1996 to 2.86% in 2006.
Figure 1. Long-term trend of the percentage publications with a Korean address in the Science Citation Index (expanded version).
 |
According to Kostoff (2004), Korea obtained even the 6th position during the first eight months of the year 2004 in the field of nanotechnology (Leydesdorff & Zhou, 2007). The KISTEP (2006) reports that molecular biology and genetics are by far the most influential areas of Korean science when measured by the citation index from the year 1996 to 2005. The next highly cited subjects are immunology, space science, neurology & behavioral science, biology & biochemistry. New fields including molecular biology and space engineering are significantly emerging in Korea.
Using a case study approach, Choung, Min, & Park (2003) showed that research capabilities in the information and telecommunication sector have improved considerably via domestic and international collaboration as well as governmental development polices. In another context, Leydesdorff and Zhou (2005) argued that Korea is one among five Asian nations that show a spectacular increase in their publication and citation rates when two periods (1997-2001 and 1993-1997) are compared at the level of individual nationals (King, 2004). Korea is from this perspective an interesting case. It is an OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) member state and part of the western system. Nevertheless, the rise in publications etc. shows some “Chinese” patterns.
However, citation performance in terms of the percentage of world share, that is, the number of citations per paper, is not yet as competitive as publication performance. In a comparison between South Korea and the Netherlands based on the Science Citation Index 2002, Park, Hong, and Leydesdorff (2005) found that some traditional areas such as Korean chemistry are among the mainstream subjects in the increasing scientific and technological outputs. While research in the university sector has been well developed, industrial and public sector research efforts were relatively underrepresented in the database. The authors suggest that the participation of industry and public sectors in a university-driven knowledge production system can function as the crucial variable for boosting Korea’s research and citation performance.
These conflicting portfolios have motivated us to examine in more detail Korean scientific journals as one of the main output channels of this national research system. Since the knowledge production system is largely university-based, this question has also policy relevance in an emerging knowledge-based economy. Specifically, we analyze the detailed citation environment of international journals (operationalized as journals included in the Science Citation Index) published in Korea and compare them with international journals published elsewhere. Do Korean journals provide a specific communication channel both nationally and internationally? Do they add possibilities for Korean researchers or are Korean researchers publishing in these journals locking themselves into a national publication circuit? (Zhou & Leydesdorff, 2007). The results from this empirical exercise can be useful for academic actors (e.g., authors, journal editors and publishers, research policy agencies). Furthermore, we intend to draw some policy implications which may be helpful to increase Korea’s research potential.
Korean journals in the national research system
The majority of Korean scholarly journals are university-based. Korean journals have been mostly published solely by academic societies without cooperation from commercial publishers. Thus, there is always a minimum charge for the printing service. It has been hard for the national societies to raise sufficient funds for these publication activities. Authors with external funding are sometimes charged an additional fee because their research has more financial resources. In other words, Korea has a self-supporting system of publications. This is different from western countries where world-wide publishing companies are influential in the scientific publication market.
Table 1 summarizes the Korean journals included in the Science Citation Index that will be the subject of this study. The table also shows when they were first indexed in the Thomson ISI database. Among these journals, only ETRI Journal has a governmental affiliation. This journal is published by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) that is sponsored by the Ministry of Information and Communication. Appendix I provides a similar list using the web-based version of the Science Citation Index-Expanded.
Table 1. A profile of the 10 Korean journals included in the Science Citation Index in 2004.
|
No |
Journal title (Abbreviation) |
Publisher |
Since when included in the SCI |
|
1 |
Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society (B Kor Chem Soc) |
Korean Chemical Society |
1981 |
|
2 |
Journal of the Korean Physical Society (J Korean Phys Soc) |
Korean Physical Society |
1993 |
|
3 |
Molecules and Cells (Mol Cells) |
Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology |
1995 |
|
4 |
ETRI Journal (Etri J) |
Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute |
1996 |
|
5 |
Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology (J Microbiol Biotechn) |
Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology |
1995 |
|
6 |
Experimental and Molecular Medicine (Exp Mol Med) |
Korean Society of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |
1996 |
|
7 |
MacromolecularResearch (MacromolRes)( Formerly Korean Polymer, Korea Polym J) |
Polymer Society of Korea |
1995 |
|
8 |
Journal of Communications and Networks (J Commun Netw – S Kor) |
Korean Institute of Communication and Sciences |
2000 |
|
9 |
Journal of Korean Medical Science (J Korean Med Sci) |
Korean Academy of Medical Sciences |
1999 |
|
10 |
Journal of Ceramic Processing Research (J Ceram Process Res) |
Ceramic Processing Research Center of Hanyang University |
2002 |
- The abbreviations
used for journal titles are available at http://apps.isiknowledge.com/WoS/help/A_abrvjt.html
Korean “SCI-journals” can be expected to have specific roles in the national research system. The internationalization of Korean research is promoted by these journals in several ways. Prospective authors are encouraged to submit their papers in English. The editors need to comply to the internationally-acceptable standards in reviewing procedures before the journal can be included in the Thomson ISI database. The quality of published research article needs to be controlled in order to maintain the status once the journal is indexed. Korean SCI journals also function as a nesting place where national scientists seek to publish preliminary research results that could be developed to be submitted into prestigious international journals.
Furthermore, national researchers consider Korean SCI journals as a PR (Public Relations) channel in order to get their own research exposed to peer-scientists, university administrators, and funding agencies. The scholarly discourse among elite Korean scientists is mediated through these journals. In addition, universities in Korea have become very strict in promoting faculty members these days. Several major schools require young scholars to publish their research output only in the SCI journals if they want to continue their employment contract and get promoted. Therefore, the Korean journals listed in the SCI provide national scientists with a nurturing environment both academically and administratively.
Kim and Kim (2000) did a bibliometric analysis of publications by chemists at Seoul National University in Korea using 1992-1998 SCI data. The SCI journals preferred by Korean chemists were the Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society (B Kor Chem Soc, Korea), Tetrahedron Letters (Tetrahedron Lett, UK), Journal of Physical Chemistry A (J Phys Chem A, USA), Journal of Chemical Physics (J Chem Phys , USA) and the Journal of the American Chemical Society (J Am Chem Soc , USA). This reveals that Korean SCI journals play a role of broadening international publication venues for domestic researchers.
From the perspective of research policy, the internationalization of research is greatly due to the fact that the Korea government started to worry about the relative isolation of the scientific community from the world scientific system. Since the late 1990s, the development strategies and the priorities of research policies in science and technology in Korea can be characterized as internationalization. The year 1998 is generally used to emphasize a decisive break with past eras in Korea. A financial disaster called the ‘IMF (International Monetary Fund) crisis’ happened because of insufficient currency of US dollars in December 1997. Due to this financial crisis, the Korean government accelerated the development of each sector of society towards more globalization. Prior to the IMF crisis, the academic sector in Korea was more or less adamant about being evaluated by globally acknowledged scientific standard. After the crisis, however, one vigorously adopts an editorial and evaluation system according to the guidelines of international publication practices.
In accordance with globalization trends, the Korean government has undertaken a multi-faceted endeavor including financial assistance to overcome scientific localism. Kim (2005) documented that the R&D expenditure from the private sector has significantly decreased because of the Korean economic downturn. Nevertheless, the Korean government has steadily attempted to enlarge R&D activities. The share of the government sector in total R&D expenditure went up from 23 percent in 1997 to 27 percent in 1998-1999. Furthermore, the Korean government has launched a subsidy program for academic societies as well as university-based research centers since early 2000. The primary purpose of these policies is to assist their international publication activities lest Korea should be scientifically fell behind in the global arena. This is a meaningful effort in relation to the objective to internationalize the research output generated by Korean scientists.
Another example is that the number of Korean journals included in the Science Citation Index-expanded version has become considerably higher. In 1993, only three Korean journals were indexed in the database. These were Journal of the Korean Physical Society (J Korean Phys Soc), Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering (Korean J Chem Eng), and the Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society (B Kor Chem Soc). In June 2006, ten Korean journals were indexed in the Science Citation Index and twenty-nine journals were newly included in the Science Citation Index-Expanded version. Among these journals, nineteen journals have been included since the year 2000 (see Appendix 1). During this process, a new publishing company with a specialization in science and technology journals, Techno-Press, was also established. This company is regarded as a unique entity in terms of its relative independence of traditional societies. Techno-Press is currently publishing five Science Citation Index-expanded journals.[1] These trends reflect the slowly changing situation in the national publication system. Furthermore, four academic societies are printing and distributing their journals through international publishing companies. For example, Molecules & Cells and Journal of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology are being taken care of by Springer, Current Applied Physics is being made by Elsevier, and Geosciences Journal is being printed by Mary Ann Liebert.
Another issue is whether Korean scholars are citing papers published in Korean SCI journals more actively than international SCI journals. Kim (2004) concluded that this is not the case. The Korean scientific research system including social science is heavily leaning toward the Western practices (e.g., the U.S.A.). However, interesting practices have been developed among Korean researchers and journal editors. Journal publishers have an interest in increasing their citation rates. Therefore, a journal may informally ask prospective contributors to cite at least two articles published in the same journal. In other words, the journal publisher promotes itself by increasing its self-citation rate. Furthermore, some journal publishers provide citing author with cash-coupons. For example, if one publishes an article in a journal included in the Thomson ISI database and cite another journal, one can obtain a coupon as a gratuity from the publishing house of the cited journal. This contribution is dubious, but no longer easily correctable as a within-journal ‘self’-citation (Leydesdorff, 2007).
Methods and Data
Social network analysis
Methodological techniques developed in social network analysis are applied to this research. Network analysis is a set of research procedures for identifying structures in social systems based on the relations among the system’s components rather than the attributes of individual cases (Wasserman & Faust, 1994). The method has been previously applied to describe the patterns of scientific communication (Kim, Park, & Thelwall, 2006; Leydesdorff, 2007; Park & Thelwall, 2006). Network analysis is especially useful for identifying individual nodes that are most central (or peripheral) to the citation network. In other words, journals that are the largest information sources and targets of citations can be examined through the use of network analysis.
For example, Freeman’s (1979) degree centrality is a basic and primary measure in social network analysis. The indegree centrality of a journal means the connectivity number of journals that are linked to a given journal in terms of citation. On the other hand, outdegree centrality refers to how many citations each journal has created in its reference section. While degree centrality is related to the position of individual nodes, in this case, journals, system indicator centralization (that is, indegree centralization) tells us the extent to which the citation is concentrated to the highly cited journals in the network. The higher this percentage, the more centralized. In other words, there is unequal distribution of citations at the level of the network.
Furthermore, researchers explicitly illustrate the overall citation pattern through a network diagram. The network diagram enables us to show how varied the citation relations of target journals per source journal are. This visualization can simultaneously display the relationship between the citing and cited journals. In these visualizations, circles will represent international journals and squares Korean journals. The size of the journals will be proportional to the number of their being citedness. Lines between them imply the presence of citations and arrow heads indicate the direction of citations. The length of lines does not directly represent the total number of citations but shorter lines tend to represent higher citation counts.
During the visualization process, the average value of citation matrix (also called density in social network analysis) is used as the threshold level. In other words, lines between journals are omitted when the citation count is below the average. In network diagram, this value is frequently employed as the threshold level to make the hidden linkage pattern among nodes more visible (Wasserman & Faust, 1994). For this research, social network analysis is conducted using UCINET for Windows (Borgatti, Everett, & Freeman, 2002). More specifically, a social network visualization technique is applied into the data using the NetDraw available from UCINET for Windows.
Data
This paper examines the networked structure of citations of Korean SCI journals. The procedures of data collection are as follows. First, a list of ten Korean SCI journals was made as provided in Table 1. We then obtained their citation records from the Journal Citation Reports of the Science Citation Index 2004 published by the Thomson ISI. We used the CD-Rom version of these reports.
More specifically, a journal-journal citation matrix is made to acquire a citation frequency from individual Korean SCI journals to all other journals listed in the database. The citations are counted in terms of unique article relations. Citation relations lower than two are aggregated by the ISI under the category “All others.” This operationalization provides us with a global citation environment of the Korean SCI journals.
In the case of the B Kor Chem Soc, for example, 198 journals are generated as its reference group in terms of journals containing articles which cite this journal. This procedure enabled us to discover a relational structure of interconnectivity among the journals citing each of Korean SCI journals under investigation. Also we can pinpoint the specific positions of individual Korean journals in their fields by finding out the extent to which journals are citing within their own group compared to how often they are cited inside of their group. We can highlight imbalances in the citation patterns between Korean SCI journals and international SCI journals.
Results
Profile of Korean SCI journals in global citation environment
Table 2 shows the portfolios of the ten Korean journals which are included in the Science Citation Index, with their global citation environment. The number of journals cited in the second column refers to how many journals in the journal-to-journal citation network of the ISI database in 2004 cited this Korean journal. For example, B Kor Chem Soc was cited by 198 journals in the year 2004 while it cited 452 journals. B Kor Chem Soc was the most cited journal among the 10 Korean journals. Mol Cells, J Korean Med Sci, and J Korean Phys Soc followed. B Kor Chem Soc was indexed in 1981 by the Thomson ISI and has long been published by a representative organization of Korea in the chemistry field.
In the context of networked research in the information society, the scientific value of journals is largely dependent on the networking capability of the papers published in them. However, there is a big discrepancy between the number of being cited and that of citing for all the Korean SCI journals. All Korean journals were cited by other journals much less than the times they cite the others. This means that their visibility, impact, or reputation in the international scholarly community is weak when the association between journals is measured using aggregated citation relations. In the global citation environment, scientific articles of Korean SCI journals are not regarded as highly trustworthy sources. Being less cited may be caused by the fact that Korean SCI journals hardly have international publishers so that it is relatively difficult for them to get exposed to world scientific community. They have a weak position on the market. The number of non-Koreans publishing in Korean journals is low.
Table 2. Performance of Korean SCI journals in the global citation environment
|
No |
Journal title |
Number of journals citing (Indegree) |
Number of journals cited (Outdegree) |
|
1 |
Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society |
198 |
452 |
|
2 |
Journal of the Korean Physical Society |
129 |
390 |
|
3 |
Molecules and Cells |
144 |
354 |
|
4 |
ETRI Journal |
19 |
74 |
|
5 |
Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology |
72 |
392 |
|
6 |
Experimental and Molecular Medicine |
89 |
229 |
|
7 |
Macromolecular Research |
25 |
209 |
|
8 |
Journal of Communications and Networks |
13 |
28 |
|
9 |
Journal of Korean Medical Science |
131 |
451 |
|
10 |
Journal of Ceramic Processing Research |
11 |
100 |
Profile of Korean SCI journals in their local citation environments
In order to examine local citation environment, we collected the population of journals which cited a paper published in the Korean SCI journals. The local impact of a journal can be examined by its share of the total citations in the journal’s neighboring citation environment (Leydesdorff, 2007; Leydesdorff & Park, in preparation). Overall, there is a large discrepancy between the number of citing and being cited except for Etri J. We do not see a significant number of citations from a reference group of journals that cited Korean SCI journals to the latter.
The B Kor Chem Soc is the most influential journal in terms of the number of being cited (1,185 citations). Here we examine J Microbiol Biotechn. Among the 10 Korean SCI journals under investigation, this journal has the relatively high visibility in terms of its rank in the cited network. As indicated in Table 3, it occupied the 48th position among the 72 journals. J Microbiol Biotechn obtained a total of 265 citations from 72 journals except for self-citations. This tells us that J Microbiol Biotechn is fairly acknowledged as a competitive Korean journal in the microbiology field.
Table 3. Performance of Korean SCI journals in local citation environment
|
No |
Journal title |
Nr of publications citing (Indegree) |
Rank in terms of being cited (Indegree) |
Nr of publications cited (Outdegree) |
|
1 |
Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society |
1,185 |
116th among 198 jrns |
5,128 |
|
2 |
Journal of the Korean Physical Society |
741 |
87th among 129 jrns |
7,334 |
|
3 |
Molecules and Cells |
537 |
101st among 144 jrns |
1,914 |
|
4 |
ETRI Journal |
78 |
15th among 19 jrns |
77 |
|
5 |
Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology |
265 |
48th among 72 jrns |
1,601 |
|
6 |
Experimental and Molecular Medicine |
273 |
79th among 89 jrns |
891 |
|
7 |
Macromolecular Research |
88 |
22nd among 25 jrns |
1,464 |
|
8 |
Journal of Communications and Networks |
46 |
13th among 13 jrns |
134 |
|
9 |
Journal of Korean Medical Science |
342 |
84th among 131 jrns |
752 |
|
10 |
Journal of Ceramic Processing Research |
23 |
10th among 11 jrns |
336 |
1. B Kor Chem Soc
a. Complete network of B Kor Chem Soc in the cited dimension
Using B Kor Chem Soc as the entrance journal, we made a citation network as seen in Figure 2. The results reveal that J Am Chem Soc (145,333 out of 1,215,303 citations) is the most central journal in this network. Next, J Chem Phys (57,121 citations), J Org Chem (52,128 citations), and Angew Chem Int Edit (50,456 citations) are the next most central journals (Bornmann, Leydesdorff, & Marx, forthcoming). These journals among other journals are located in the center of the map. Although this network is made based on B Kor Chem Soc, academic literature in international journals has an impact on whipping the structure of citation network in a shape. Most peripheral in the network are Curr Org Synth (2 citations), B Chem Soc Ethiopia (4 citations), and Concept Magn Reson A (6 citations). Cent Eur J Chem was isolated from the network without receiving any citation from other journals. The least cited journals in the group are scattered around in the map.
b. Ego-network of B Kor Chem Soc in the cited dimension
B Kor Chem Soc is selected as a focal journal. The J Org Chem (63), Tetrahedron Lett (45), Tetrahedron (39), Syn Lett (30), and J Am Chem Soc (21) frequently cited papers published in B Kor Chem Soc. However, the number of citations from B Kor Chem Soc to international journals is much higher than the reverse citation relation: J Am Chem Soc (632), J Org Chem (432), Tetrahedron Lett (353), and J Chem Phys (182). This shows that leading journals in the international scientific community provide the largest sources of scientific knowledge for Korean academics.
How is the citation situation among Korean SCI journals in the network? B Kor Chem Soc received only 41 citations (out of 1,185 citations) from papers published in other Korean journals. These are Macromol Res (14), J Ind Eng Chem (12), Arch Pharm Res (4), J Microbiol Biotechn(4), Korean J Chem Eng (4), Polym-Korea (3). Similar to the number of being cited by domestic journals, B Kor Chem Soc cited their publications 35 times: J Ind Eng Chem (14), Arch Pharm Res (8), Korean J Chem Eng (6), Macromol Res (5), J Microbiol Biotechn (2). Polym-Korea was not cited at all by B Kor Chem Soc. B Kor Chem Soc is not firmly integrated with domestic journals in the Thomson ISI database. The former is positioned far from the latter in Figure 2. This means that B Kor Chem Soc does not play a role of a hub among marginal Korean journals in this field. In other words, Korean chemists are eager to acquire research output generated by their international counterparts and give them credit. Interestingly, J Microbiol Biotechn and Arch Pharm Res, Polym-Korea and Macromol Res, J Ind Eng Chem and Korean J Chem Eng are arranged on the rim side of Figure 2 by making a pair. This indicates that these journals are citing international journals in a similar pattern.
Figure 2. Network diagram among the 198 journals citing B Kor Chem Soc
 |
2. J Korean Phys Soc
a. Complete network of J Korean Phys Soc in the cited dimension
In the network diagram of the citation environment of J Korean Phys Soc, the most cited journal Phys Rev Lett (133,631) is very visible in the middle of Figure 3. The next highly cited journals Phys Rev B (88,362), Appl Phys Lett (58,110), J Appl Phys (44,205), Phys Lett B (36,533), and Phys Rev D (32,647) are also fairly noticeable in the map. The peripheral journals in the network are Etri J (44), Iau Symp (15), Cr Chim (14), and Asian J Spectrosc (3).
b. Ego-network of J Korean Phys Soc in the cited dimension
In the case of citations of J Korean Phys Soc, Jpn J Appl Phys (49) cited it the most. Ferroelectrics (34) and J Appl Phys (32) also cited J Korean Phys Soc more than 30 times. Among Korean journals in the group, Curr Appl Phys cited J Korean Phys Soc 16 times. Both Curr Appl Phys and cited J Korean Phys Soc are published by the same organization, Korean Physical Society. Etri J and B Kor Chem Soc were 4 and 2 times respectively.
Figure 3. Network diagram among the 129 journals citing J Korean Phys Soc
 |
3. Mol Cells
a. Complete network of Mol Cells in the cited dimension
We made a network-diagram mapping of citation connections among the 144 journals citing the seed journal, in this case, Mol Cells. As seen in Figure 4, a network diagram provides useful indicators that there are two major journals, J Biol Chem and P Natl Acad Sci USA, in this data. J Biol Chem and P Natl Acad Sci USA received 125,062 and 109,461 citations respectively from other journals in the group. Interestingly, both journals were also the most central in the network of J Microbiol Biotechn as described in the above. The next most cited journals Embo J (37,836), Bio Chemistry-US (32,874), and Mol Cell Biol (30,886) are neatly interspersed making a circle centered on the major journals. Korean J Genetic (9), Cytom Part A (8), Asian Austral J Anim(8), J Clin Biochem Nutr (8) were cited less than 10 times. Chem Biodivers had none of citations in the group. The map clearly partitions relatively peripheral groups from central ones in international citation landscape of Mol Cells.
b. Ego-network of Mol Cells in the cited dimension
Let us focus on the disciplinary citation environment using Mol Cells as the focal journal. A total of 537 papers in 143 journals included the publications of Mol Cells in their references. Major journal J Biol Chem cited Mol Cells the most (44 times) and Biochem Bioph Res Co was the second (26 times). Nucleic Acids Res (19), Free Radical Bio Med (13), Korean J Genetic (13), Plant Physiol (12), J Microbiol Biotechn (11), and Plant J (10) cited Mol Cells more than 10 times. The number of citations of the eighty journals in this group is 2. In other words, the research studies Mol Cells had published were listed 2 times as the reference literature of the 80 journals. This can be a sign of Mol Cells being closer to a global journal.
However, Mol Cells was cited only 51 times by eight Korean journals in the group: Korean J Genetic (13), J Microbiol Biotechn (11), Exp Mol Med (8), J Microbiol (6), J Biochem Mol Biol (5), Arch Pharm Res (4), Asian Austral J Anim (2), and Yonsei Med J (2). This reveals that Korean scholars like to make a collaborative weaving with the scientists publishing their research in international journals rather than domestic counter partners. Additionally, it is interesting to see that the eight Korean journals are divided in three clusters in the Figure 4. This could have happened owing to their similar citing practices.
Figure 4. Network diagram among the 144 journals citing Mol Cells
 |
4. Etri J
a. Complete network of Etri J in the cited dimension
In the complete network of Etri J, Opt Lett received 2,472 citations from the 19 journals. IEEE Photonic Tech L (1,479 citations) and Jpn J Appl Phys (1,094 citations) came after Opt Lett. Contrary to these central journals, the most peripheral journal Phys Chem Chem Phys had only two citations.
b. Ego-network of Etri J in the cited dimension
Among the ten Korean SCI journals, Etri J is only journal that the number of being cited (78 times) is bigger than that of citing (77 times) in local citation environment. Given that articles published in Etri J receive several citations from papers in its reference journals, the journal seems to be perceived as highly reputable compared to the other nine Korean SCI journals.
However, on the close examination of citation counts show that Etri J was mostly cited by Lect Notes Comput Sc (also called LNCS) 28 times (out of 78 citations). LNCS is little bit different from regular ISI-ranked journals. Internationally prestigious conference proceedings in science and technology are often published in LNCS. However, because these are conference proceedings, it is considered as relatively easy to publish papers in LNCS. For this reason, some major universities in Korea do not acknowledge the LNCS publications as ISI-rated research performance of their faculty members. Thus, it might not be fair to recognize a number of citations from papers contained in the LNCS series as genuine count for a comparison purpose. In addition, there is one Korean journal (J Korean Phys Soc) in this network. Etri J was cited 4 times by J Korean Phys Soc.
5. J Microbiol Biotechn
a. Complete network of J Microbiol Biotechn in the cited dimension
First, let’s examine a whole citation network with a seed journal of J Microbiol Biotechn. The publications of J Biol Chem (35,378) and P Natl Acad Sci USA (34,863) are the most referenced research in the group. Figure 5 illustrates that these two journals are the hubs of the network in the subject area of J Microbiol Biotechn. Both journals are being surrounded by the next cited journals, Biochemistry-US (16,121) and J Bacteriol (14,421). On the other hand, Korean SCI journals are rather away and isolated from the nucleus of the network. This implies that the majority of Korean scientific knowledge has been input through quality papers published in international journals. The least cited journals are Compost Sci Util (29), J Microbiol (27), Korean J Chem Eng (27), Key Eng Mater (6). These peripheral journals are dispersed around in network diagram.
b. Ego-network of J Microbiol Biotechn in the cited dimension
Then we move to assess the citation performance of J Microbiol Biotechn in the international environment. This journal is between core group and peripheral journals. J Microbiol Biotechn was referred to more than 10 times by the authors of non-Korean journals: Enzyme Microb Tech (16), Appl Environ Microb (10), and Biotechnol Lett (10). This citation exchange makes these journals clustered together on the left side of central part. Further, the distribution of citations of J Microbiol Biotechn is fairly even among the sample journals as summarized in Table 4. About half of the journals (49.3%) cited J Microbio Biotechn more than 2 times. Although J Microbiol Biotechn has not yet had a substantial impact on international scholars in the relevant field, the journal’s visibility in the global scientific community is to some extent gained by a number of small contributions.
J Microbiol Biotechn received only 20 citations from the 4 domestic counterparts in the group: J Microbiol (12), J Biochem Mol Biol (4), B Kor Chem Soc (2), and Korean J Chem Eng (2). In particular, the sixty percent of domestic citations came from J Microbiol published by a peer organization (Korean Society for Microbiology) of the publisher of J Microbiol Biotechn (Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology). In the meantime, J Microbiol Biotechn cited J Microbiol, J Biochem Mol Biol, and B Kor Chem Soc in 13, 8, and 4 times respectively. The citation to Korean J Chem Eng was not existent at all.
Table 4. Distribution of J Microbiol Biotechn citations
|
Nr of citations |
Nr of journals |
Percent |
|
2 |
35 |
49.3 |