Source-linked AI summary
BRICS countries and scientific excellence: A bibliometric analysis of most frequently-cited papers
Lutz Bornmann, Caroline Wagner, Loet Leydesdorff
TL;DR
The paper asks whether BRICS countries are entering the elite of scientific publishing and recognition. It compares their highly cited research and co-authorship networks, finding participation alongside top-performing countries and describing global science as open to new entrants.
Problem
The study asks whether BRICS countries are advancing into an elite structure of science, assessed through their contributions to prestigious publications and network connectivity.
Source: §1 · p. 3Method
Results
The five BRICS countries compete with top-performing countries for elite status and cooperate with them in an elite communications network.
Source: §4 · p. 15Takeaways & Limitations
The paper concludes that a robust global science system is open to new BRICS entrants on the basis of merit.
Source: §4 · p. 16The findings depend on Web of Science data, whose expansion may inflate the reported figures by an unknown extent.
Source: §4 · p. 15
Abstract
from arXiv · showhide
The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and South Africa) are noted for their increasing participation in science and technology. The governments of these countries have been boosting their investments in research and development to become part of the group of nations doing research at a world-class level. This study investigates the development of the BRICS countries in the domain of top-cited papers (top 10% and 1% most frequently cited papers) between 1990 and 2010. To assess the extent to which these countries have become important players on the top level, we compare the BRICS countries with the top-performing countries worldwide. As the analyses of the (annual) growth rates show, with the exception of Russia, the BRICS countries have increased their output in terms of most frequently-cited papers at a higher rate than the top-cited countries worldwide. In a further step of analysis for this study, we generate co-authorship networks among authors of highly cited papers for four time points to view changes in BRICS participation (1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010). Here, the results show that all BRICS countries succeeded in becoming part of this network, whereby the Chinese collaboration activities focus on the USA.
1 Introduction
The BRICS countries are presented as emerging science and technology participants that share research-development challenges and investment priorities. This study extends work on their scientific-output growth by examining representation in highly cited publications and networks of scientific recognition.
1 Introduction
- BRICS countries share strategic scientific roles, regional disparities, and substantial investment in research and development infrastructure.They are also described as contributing significantly to the world’s scientists and engineers.Source: §1 · p. 3
- Prior work documents the BRICS countries’ rapid rise in scientific output, which this study extends to highly cited publications.Source: §1 · p. 3
- The study examines BRICS contributions to prestigious publications against top-performing nations, asking whether the countries are advancing toward an elite structure in science.Its comparison uses citation impact and network connectivity.Source: §1 · p. 3
- A related longitudinal study compares the EU28, USA, and China, while this study adds proportions of most-frequently cited publications to raw counts.Source: §1 · p. 3
2 Methods
The study identifies top-performing countries, compares BRICS output in highly cited papers over 1990–2010, and examines participation in their co-authorship network. It uses citation percentiles and network connectivity measures to conduct these analyses.
2 Methods
- The analysis identifies leading countries worldwide, compares their highly cited-paper output with BRICS over 1990–2010, and examines BRICS participation in co-authorship networks.The authors treat integration into the co-authorship network as an assumed requirement for becoming a top-performing country.Source: §2 · p. 4
2.1 Data
- Records came from the Max Planck Society’s Web of Science database, and papers were counted for every country appearing on them.The analysis included articles, reviews, and letters, with a 98,000-record cutoff that included South Africa.Source: §2.1 · pp. 4–5
- Citation percentiles compare papers within matched fields, document types, and publication years, enabling cross-field and cross-time comparisons.A 90th-percentile threshold identifies the top 10%, while the 99th identifies the top 1%; the study uses a 2010 cutoff to allow a three-year citation window.Source: §2.1 · pp. 5–6
- The study calculates percentiles using Hazen’s method, which gives a mean percentile of 50 and handles distribution tails symmetrically.For journals in multiple Web of Science categories, it averages the category-specific percentile values.Source: §2.1 · p. 6
2.2 Software and statistical methods
- Stata supports statistical analyses, while Pajek creates co-authorship networks and degree distributions are used to assess connectivity.The network layout uses the Kamada–Kawai spring embedder; k-cores identify clusters whose vertices meet a minimum degree.Source: §2.2 · p. 6
3 Results
Across 1990–2010, BRICS countries generally grew their highly cited paper output faster than leading countries worldwide, and all entered the co-authorship network. China led BRICS growth, while its collaboration with the USA became especially prominent.
3.1 National representations within the most frequently cited papers
- Switzerland led the 1990–2010 country ranking, with 1.9% of its papers in the top 1% and 15.7% in the top 10%.China, despite ranking among the ten countries with the highest total publication output, remained below the expected 1% and 10% shares; among BRICS, it was followed by South Africa, Brazil, India, and Russia.Source: Table 1 · p. 7, §3.1 · p. 8
3.2 Comparison of BRICS countries with the top five countries worldwide
- The best-performing BRICS countries exceeded 500% growth in highly cited paper counts, while Switzerland, Denmark, and the Netherlands, as well as the USA, remained below 500%.China showed the largest increase; Russia had only slight growth and was the weakest-performing BRICS country.Source: Figure 1 · p. 10, §3.2 · p. 11
- Except for Russia, BRICS countries had higher annual growth rates in highly cited papers than the best-performing countries worldwide.China had particularly high growth rates from the mid-1990s, which declined toward the most recent years; BRICS growth rates tended to converge toward those of leading countries.Source: Figure 2 · p. 12, §3.2 · p. 13
3.3 Co-authorship networks of BRICS and the 15 top countries worldwide
- At Ptop 1%, one BRICS country after another entered the core, culminating in all BRICS countries’ inclusion in 2010; at Ptop 10%, all countries were connected by one or two steps except Austria in 2000.The USA dominated co-authorship in all years, while China became an important US collaborating partner, with remarkable growth in 2005 and 2010.Source: §3.3 · p. 15
4 Discussion
The BRICS countries produce cohorts of scientists publishing top 10% and top 1% papers, compete for elite status, and cooperate with leading countries in an elite communications network. The discussion also notes growth and integration alongside data and economic-context limitations.
4 Discussion
- The BRICS governments increased research-and-development investment to join nations conducting research at the highest level.Source: §4 · p. 15
- The five BRICS countries produce cohorts publishing Ptop 10% and Ptop 1% papers and compete with top-performing countries worldwide for elite status.Source: §4 · p. 15
- They cooperate with leading countries in an elite communications network, which includes practitioners from countries absent from global science a generation earlier.Source: §4 · pp. 15–16
- The study’s figures may be inflated by changes in Web of Science coverage, including its significant 2009 expansion, though the extent is unknown.Source: §4 · p. 15
- Recent developments suggest BRICS growth and integration, alongside a return to mean growth rates in more recent years.Source: §4 · p. 16
- The crisis in advanced economies since 2008 may have influenced exchange programs, such as postdoctoral exchanges.Source: §4 · p. 16