Memorial continues to see a steady increase in its scientific output in prestigious academic journals.

According to data recently released by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), which is based at Leiden University in The Netherlands, Memorial places 572 among more than 1,170 universities from 65 different countries around the world for research output for the period of 2015-18.

Last year, Memorial placed 600.

The CWTS Leiden ranking is based on bibliographic data from the Web of Science database of Clarivate Analytics.

According to the 2020 rankings, Memorial has seen a 67 per cent increase in its total number of publications, rising from 1,323 publications in 2006-09 to 2,203 in 2015-18.

High-quality results research

“This latest data confirms the impact and collaboration of our scholars, many of whom are internationally renowned in their disciplines,” said Dr. Neil Bose, vice-president (research).

“Our teams of talented researchers continue to publish in top-tier journals, translating their new knowledge and discoveries for people around the world. Their work further enhances Memorial’s global footprint for groundbreaking research.”

Discipline increases

Within specific disciplines, Memorial’s increase in its total number of publications was impressive.

For example, social sciences and humanities publications rose 118 per cent from 99 in 2006-09 to 216 in 2015-18; mathematics and computer science publications went from 186 in 2006-09 to 324 in 2015-18, jumping 74 per cent; and life and earth sciences publications increased from 313 in 2006-09 to 560 in 2015-18, or a rise of 79 per cent.

Other growth

Memorial also distinguishes itself in several other key areas.

There were big jumps in the number of Memorial’s publications that – compared with other publications in the same field and in the same year – belong in the category of the top 10 per cent most frequently cited, as follows:

• In all sciences, Memorial’s output went from 117 in 2006-09 to 216 in 2015-18, an 85 per cent change
• Social sciences and humanities saw a 217 per cent increase, rising from six in 2006-09 to 19 in 2015-18; mathematics and computer science went from 25 in 2006-09 to 47 in 2015-18, or an 88 per cent increase; and life and earth sciences went from 28 in 2006-09 to 49 in 2015-18, a 75 per cent jump

Memorial also saw increases in the average number of citations of its publications – notably a 105 per cent increase in mathematics and computer science citations, which rose from 2.2 in 2006-09 to 4.5 in 2015-18.

For the proportion of publications that have authors from two or more countries, Memorial saw a 28 per cent increase in the life and earth sciences category, rising from 42.4 per cent in 2006-09 to 54.1 per cent in 2015-18.

And social sciences and humanities publications grew 31 per cent in the same time period, going from 29.3 per cent in 2006-09 to 38.3 per cent in 2015-18.

The Centre for Science and Technology Studies focuses its work primarily on examining scientific research and its connections to technology, innovation and society.

Memorial’s latest rankings are available here.