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Who is publishing in Theriogenology and on what subjects?
Theriogenology
42:727-737,
1994
WHO IS PUBLISHING IN THERIOGENOLOGY ON WHAT SUBJECTS ?
AND
C. Mier y Teran,’ C.S. Galinat and J.M. Russell’ ‘Department of Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), 04510 Mexico DF, Mexico ?lcience and Humanities Information Center (CICH) National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), 04510 Mexico DF, Mexico Received for publication: Accepted:
November July 25,
18, 1993 1994
ABSTRACT An analysis of 503 articles published in the journal ZIeriogenology in 1984, 1987 and 1990 was conducted to identify research trends and researchers publishing in the journal. A 30.5% increase in the number of papers published was found for 1990. During the 3 yr period studied, the United States and Canada accounted for 63.1% of the total number of articles published, followed by European countries with 14.3%, and by Asia with 12.0%. At least 1 paper was published from 41 countries. The United States, at the top of the list, increased its share from 16% in 1984 to 21% in 1990. The number of papers from Japan increased significantly while the percentage of participation from Europe declined. The female animal was the sole subject of 63.2% of the articles, and cattle were the most researched species, appearing in 44.3% of the studies. Although the estrous cycle was the most studied reproductive event in all 3 yr, there was also a trend for the popularity of this topic to decrease in favor of the subject fertilization. The number of authors per paper increased significantly over the years analyzed, as did the number of studies carried out in international cooperation. Institutes of higher education were represented in almost 70% of the papers, followed by research institutes (12.8%). The present analysis confirms the central role that the journal Theriogenology plays in the world-wide communication of research results in animal reproduction. Key words: animal reproduction,
international
cooperative research, communication
INTRODUCTION There is little doubt of the important role that the journal Theriogenology plays in the world-wide communication and exchange of research data on animal reproduction. Its contribution to the accumulation of knowledge in the field is indicated by the frequency with which articles are cited in other publications, signifying the relevance, visibility and impact of the results published in this international journal. Theriogenology appears in all major indexing and abstracting journals, including the prestigious Science Cirufion Zndex (XI), which covers only those titles heavily cited by workers in their respective fields. Of the 70 or so veterinary journals included in the SC1 over the last few years, Theriogcnology has always occupied one of the top few places with respect to journal impact (5). It is included in the core list of veterinary medical serials compiled by the Veterinary Medical Libraries Section of the Medical Library Association (3), and it is mentioned as one of the core veterinary journals receiving a significant number of citations from other titles in this same group (4).
Copyright 0 1994 Butterworth-Heinemann
Theriogenology
728
In 1990, a special article appeared analyzing 10 years of publication of ZIeriogenology. It showed the journal to be enjoying a rising subscription rate and growing international readership. In addition, it also showed an increase in the number of published manuscripts originating from outside the United States (10). The special place that the journal occupies among animal science publications is also illustrated by the central role it plays in the communication of research results from the subspeciality of tropical animal reproduction. Theriogenology published the most articles on this topic originating from a wide range of countries (9). Since no study had been conducted on the subjects covered in the papers published in Eheriogenology, we decided to analyze these research topics and the contributing institutions and countries of a representative sample of journal issues. By analyzing the material published in a particular field of research, it is possible to tell which topics are of current interest and which researchers, institutions and countries are the most active. Moreover, other aspects of research activity can be measured such as how many authors collaborate to produce a single paper and the levels of international collaboration within the discipline. Many international journals have been the subject of such bibliographic inquiry. Nature and Science, for example, were compared with respect to the disciplines represented and the number of authors per paper, among other variables (6). Similarly, the distribution of reference citations to 2 New Zealand agricultural journals was carried out with a view to characterizing citation patterns to basic and applied journals in the field (1). The objective of the present study thus was to identify the research topics published in i%eriogenology in recent years as well as their authors and countries of origin. MATERIALS AND METHODS All papers including reviews, appearing in volumes 21122, 27/28 and 33134 of Theriogenology published in 1984, 1987 and 1990, respectively (with the exception of the January issue of each year which contains the papers presented at the Annual Conference of the International Embryo Transfer Society), were analyzed according to the following parameters: country and institutional affiliation of all authors; principal activity of the contributing institutions; gender, species and reproductive events studied, and the number of authors per paper. Coding was carried out manually, and the information program (Ashton, Tate, CA, USA).
was processed using DBase III
RESULTS A total of 503 articles was analyzed in this study. While the number of papers published was similar in 1984 and 1987 (148 and 1.54 respectively), the number increased by 30.5% in 1990 to 201 manuscripts. In the 3 yr studied, a total of 29 (5.8%) papers was internationally coauthored, 5 in 1984, 4 in 1987 and 20 in 1990. Of the total! 28 papers involved collaboration between 2 countries, and 1 paper between 3 countries. During the 3 yr studied, papers from the United States and Canada accounted for 63.1% of the total articles published, followed by Europe with 14.3% and Asia with 12.0%. Other regions contributed less than 5% each; Latin America, for instance, accounted for only 2.3%. The number of papers in each of the 3 yr studied, based on the geographical region of the authors, is given in Figure 1. The United States and Canada accounted for by far the highest number of papers in all 3 yr. In the last 2 yr studied, there was little difference
Theriogenology
between the number of papers from Europe and Asia, while in 1984, the first year of the review, European papers outnumbered those from the Asian countries. At least 1 paper from each of 41 countries was published during the years of analysis. The 13 most productive countries shown in Figure 2 produced 479 papers accounting for 90% of the total for the 3 yr. Since Theriogenology is published in the United States, this country was responsible for the greatest number of papers, increasing from around 16% of the total in 1984’to 21% in 1990. A decrease in the percentage of participation from 1984 to 1990 was noted for certain of the European countries such as France, Great Britain and Sweden, while the Asian countries, India and Japan, showed an increase, albeit a very slight one in the case of India and a significantly larger increase for Japan. The female animal was the sole subject in 63.2 % (n=3 18) of the papers, while the male was represented in 18.1% (n =91) of the studies; 2 % (n = 10) of the papers involved both sexes. Papers on techniques such as manipulation and freezing of embryos and on other studies whose objectives were not specifically related to either gender accounted for 16.7% (n=84) of the total. In both 1987 and 1990 more papers were published in this last category than those that focussed on the male. The number of in vitro studies increased from 24.3% in 1984, to 27.3% in 1987 and 38.8% in 1990, suggesting a shift from field studies to those carried out in the laboratory. The 10 most frequently studied species are indicated in’Figure 3. This group represents 95.4% of the total number of papers. Cattle were by far the most researched species, ‘being the subject of 44.3% (n=233) of papers, followed by sheep with 13.5% (n=71). All species showed an increase between 1984 and 1990 except horses, whose representation declined gradually from 1984 through 1987 to 1990. The female was studied more than the male in all the species. In cattle and pigs there were more studies where the sex of the animals was not mentioned than those reporting on the male. Most of the papers on laboratory animals (rodents and leporids) made no distinction between the sexes. The total number of papers which could be classified by reproductive event was 213. Eight of the reproductive events which are shown in Figure 4 represented 98.6% of the total taken over the 3 yr analyzed, with estrous cycle and fertilization contributing 50% of the published papers. Estrous cycle was the most popular subject in all 3 yr, notwithstanding that its popularity declined considerably between 1984 and 1990. The percentage of papers on puerperium, parturition and lactation declined, giving way to a marked increase in articles on fertilization. When classifying the papers by field, endocrinological studies and those on embryo transfer were the subject of 45% of the total (26.8 and 18.2%, respectively) number of papers published, with physiology, artificial insemination, pathology, reproductive efficiency, evaluation of reproductive performance and genetics occupying the subsequent positions. The female was studied more than the male in all fields except in the subjects of artificial insemination and the evaluation of reproductive performance, in which the male prevailed. Most papers were written by 3 authors, and accounted for 28.1% of the total published in 1984, 1987 and 1990, although in the latter 2 yr the number of 3 author papers declined (Figure 5). Single author papers also showed a marked decline. Between 1984 and 1990 there was a notable increase in the number of authors for each paper, with increases in 2 author, 4 author, and 5 to 7 author papers. Two papers submitted by 10 authors appeared in 1987 and 1990. Table 1 contains the names of the 13 institutions from which authors contributed 31.2% of the papers in the 3 yr studied. Universities in the United States occupied the top 3 positions,
Figure
AFRICA
AND N.Z.
1. Papers
published
LATIN AMERICA
AUSTRALIA
ASIA
EUROPE
U.S.A. AND CANADA
m
5
in Theriogenology
0
@$$$$j 1987 by geographical
1984
IO
15
region
PERCENTAGE
in 1984,
1,1990
20
1987
and 1990.
25
g 0‘ 9
9
2.
s!
JAPAN
INDIA
CANADA
STATES
Figure
0
-
5
1984
1987
and
in Theriogenology
in 1984,
published
contributions
2. Papers
SWEDEN
NEW ZEALAND
IRELAND
ISRAEL
GREAT BRITAIN
NIGERIA
WEST GERMANY
FRANCE
AUSTRALIA
UNITED
1990.
by the
ml987
D
I
13 countries
10 PERCENTAGE
15
t
/
with
1990 the
most
20
Figure
0
3. The
LEPORIDS
DOGS
POULTRY
GOATS
RODENTS
BUFFALOES
PIGS
HORSE&
SHEEP
CATTLE
ten most
studied
species
-1984
5
I
in Theriogenology
ml987
10 PERCENTAGE
I
1987
1990 1984,
m
15
and 1990.
20
$ 0‘ 9
CYCLE
Figure
4. The
eight
most
MENSTRUAL CYCLE (Primates)
PUBERTY
LACTATION
PARTURITION
PUERPERIUM
GESTATION
FERTILIZATION
ESTROUS
studied
0
4
2
reproductive
-1984
I
I
I
events
IO
~1990 in Theriogenology
ml987
6 8 PERCENTAGE
I
1984,
1987
12
l-
and
1990.
14
Y
Figure
TEN
NINE
EIGHT
SEVEN
SIX
FIVE
FOUR
THREE
TWO
ONE
5. Number
0
of authors
2
per
-1984 paper
4
L
published
=I990
8
in Theriogenology
k%%8 1987
PERCENTAGE
6
-
1984,
1987
10
and
1990.
12
2 B 9
Theriogenology with the University of Wisconsin at Madison being the major contributing institution. Other institutions on the list are the USDA in fourth place and the French INRA in eighth place. Table
1.
Papers authored contributions
by the 13 institutions
Institution
No. of papers
University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Florida Texas A 61M University U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cornell University University of Missouri Colorado State University Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), France North Carolina State University University of California University of Illinois University of Pennsylvania Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Total
34 24 21 19 15 15 14
with the most Percentage of total
(2.7) (2.2)
14 14 14 12 11 10
217
(1.4) (31.2)
In all, 138 institutions of higher education are represented by authors of at least 1 paper in Thcriogenology in 1984, 1987 and 1990, 53.1% of the total number of participating institutions. The remaining 2, major types of institutions represented by contributions to the journal were 49 research centers and 43 centers from the private sector, representing 35% of the total number of published papers. Government institutions represented only 6.5 % of the published papers. Higher education institutions participated in almost 70% of the total number of published papers, followed by research institutes with only 12.8% of the total. Similarly, participation for both public and private sectors was 8.4 and 7.9%, respectively. DISCUSSION The increase in the number of papers published in fieriogenology in 1990 reflects the gradual increase in the number of papers submitted for publication over the decade of the 1980’s. The sustained position of the journal as 1 of the 2 or 3 veterinary journals most frequently cited in the field of veterinary medicine makes it an obvious choice of researchers in animal reproduction both for suscribing to and publishing in. The editors expect the number of submissions to increase still further as a result of their policy to review each paper by a minimum of 2 referees in accordance with the standards required by tenure and promotion boards (10). The journal’s editorial policy of willingness to assist in the publication of deserving manuscripts from around the world is apparent from our results of our survey even though the
736
Theriogenology
large majority of authors and subscribers continue to be from the United States and Canada. The greater participation of Asian countries to the detriment of European papers is probably the result of an increase in the number of papers submitted for publication by Japan, which submitted only 2 papers in 1981 and 15 in 1988. While European countries such. as the United Kingdom and France showed yearly fluctuations in the number of papers published, little overall change occurred during these 3 yr (10). The low participation by African and Latin American scientists is disappointing, especially as these countries tend to be visible in international congresses such as those on animal reproduction and artificial insemination (8). Studies originating from Latin America, for instance, accounted for approximately 10% of the papers presented at the international congresses but only 2.3 96 of those published in our present analysis. The high editorial standards and the rigorous peer review evaluation of a mainstream journal like Theriogenology probably goes a long way to explaining such a discrepancy. In fields of special local expertise and interest, such as tropical cattle reproduction, Latin America is highly visible. Almost 30 % of the articles indexed in CAB ABSTRACTS between 1971 and 1985 on this topic were by Latin American authors (9). However, it should be noted that CAB International covers a large number of national journals, most of which are published in the local languages of the region and which do not have the wrdespread readership of the mainstream journals. The observation that researchers publishing in Theriogenology often center their attention on reproduction in the cow is consistent with previous findings (8,9). In spite of the ecological objections against the raising of cattle, our findings suggest that research in this species is likely to increase. The increase in the number of papers on sheep could be related to the lower cost of research in these ruminants compared with that of cattle. In the case of reproductive events, the tendency for authors to move away from the topic of the estrous cycle in favor of fertilization probably reflects a growing interest in improving reproductive performance. Fertilization failure remains a serious gap in our current knowledge of animal reproduction. By contrast, puberty studies are poorly represented in spite of their economic importance. This limitation can perhaps be explained by the long-term nature of doing puberty studies. An analysis of the agricultural papers indexed in Indian Science Abstracts from the mid 1970’s to the beginning of the 1980’s showed a trend toward multiple authorship, which had remained steady at around 2.3 authors per paper (2). In our present present survey, we noticed a marked decrease in the number of single author papers and a concurrent rise in papers with 2, 4, 5 or more signatories. Against this general trend, papers with 3 authors showed a decline. The number of papers written with international collaboration grew 4 to 5-fold between 1984 and 1990. An increase in the number of scientists coauthoring papers is a reflexion of greater team-work which is required to fulfill present-day standards of highly specialized, complex and interdisciplinary scientific research. The search for financing, shared resources and expertise involved in today’s highly technical and costly research effort has encouraged scientists to pool both material and intellectual capabilities, involving cooperation at the international level (7). The involvement of the higher education sector in the growth of Theriogenology is indicated by the composition of its editorial board, of which 21 of 25 members belong to university departments, including all the United States and Canadian members. Seven members of the editorial board belong to institutions on the’list of 13 from which the most papers were published. Japan has a single member on the editorial board, which might explain the increased
737
Theriogenology
interest by Japanese authors to publish in the journal. However, there are no representatives from eastern European countries nor from countries in the developing world. However, it is possible that authors from these regions might be encouraged by the presence of a national or regional representative on the editorial board to submit more manuscripts for consideration. Theriogenology has sought to publish papers from a wide variety of global regions in order to serve the international scientific community and to provide a forum for theriogenologists (10). There is no doubt of the continued acceptance of Theriogenology as one of the leading journals in the veterinary field. We hope the present analysis will help, in some small measure, to guide editorial policy towards its intended goals. REFERENCES 1. Balog C. The distribution of reference citations in two agricultural journals. Scientometrics 1985;7: lOl104. 2. Begum KJ, Sami LK. Research collaboration in agricultural science. Int Libr Rev 1988;20:57-63. 3. Boyd CT, Hull DC, MacNeil KJ, Malamud J, Anderson DC. Basic list of veterinary medical serials 2nd Edition. 1981. with revisions to A~til 1. 1986. Ser Libr 1986: 115-39. 4. Garfield E. Journal citation studies. 35. ‘Veterinary journals: What they cite and vice versa. Essays of an Information Scientist 1981-82;5:464-472. Journal Citation Reports. Institute for Scientific Information. Philadelphia, 1985-1991. ‘6: Kaneiwa K, Adachi J, Aoki M, Masuda T, Midorikawa N, Tanimura A, Yamazaki S. A comparison between the journals Nature and Science. Scientometrics 1988; 13: 125-133. 7. Luukkonen T, Tijssen RJW, Persson 0, Sivertsen G. The measurement of international scientific collaboration. Scientometrics 1993;28: 15-36. 8. Mirandt A, Russell JM, Galina CS, Navarro-Fierro R. Research in animal reproduction: an analysis of the contribution made by Latin America. Theriogenology 1987;28: 121-127. 9. Russell JM, Galina CS. Research and publishing trends in cattle reproduction in the tropics: Part 2. A Third World prerogative. Anim Breed Abstr 1987;55:819-828. 10. Shille VM, Cech E. A decade of publishing Theriogenology. Theriogenology 1990;34: 1-6.
42:727-737,
1994
WHO IS PUBLISHING IN THERIOGENOLOGY ON WHAT SUBJECTS ?
AND
C. Mier y Teran,’ C.S. Galinat and J.M. Russell’ ‘Department of Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), 04510 Mexico DF, Mexico ?lcience and Humanities Information Center (CICH) National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), 04510 Mexico DF, Mexico Received for publication: Accepted:
November July 25,
18, 1993 1994
ABSTRACT An analysis of 503 articles published in the journal ZIeriogenology in 1984, 1987 and 1990 was conducted to identify research trends and researchers publishing in the journal. A 30.5% increase in the number of papers published was found for 1990. During the 3 yr period studied, the United States and Canada accounted for 63.1% of the total number of articles published, followed by European countries with 14.3%, and by Asia with 12.0%. At least 1 paper was published from 41 countries. The United States, at the top of the list, increased its share from 16% in 1984 to 21% in 1990. The number of papers from Japan increased significantly while the percentage of participation from Europe declined. The female animal was the sole subject of 63.2% of the articles, and cattle were the most researched species, appearing in 44.3% of the studies. Although the estrous cycle was the most studied reproductive event in all 3 yr, there was also a trend for the popularity of this topic to decrease in favor of the subject fertilization. The number of authors per paper increased significantly over the years analyzed, as did the number of studies carried out in international cooperation. Institutes of higher education were represented in almost 70% of the papers, followed by research institutes (12.8%). The present analysis confirms the central role that the journal Theriogenology plays in the world-wide communication of research results in animal reproduction. Key words: animal reproduction,
international
cooperative research, communication
INTRODUCTION There is little doubt of the important role that the journal Theriogenology plays in the world-wide communication and exchange of research data on animal reproduction. Its contribution to the accumulation of knowledge in the field is indicated by the frequency with which articles are cited in other publications, signifying the relevance, visibility and impact of the results published in this international journal. Theriogenology appears in all major indexing and abstracting journals, including the prestigious Science Cirufion Zndex (XI), which covers only those titles heavily cited by workers in their respective fields. Of the 70 or so veterinary journals included in the SC1 over the last few years, Theriogcnology has always occupied one of the top few places with respect to journal impact (5). It is included in the core list of veterinary medical serials compiled by the Veterinary Medical Libraries Section of the Medical Library Association (3), and it is mentioned as one of the core veterinary journals receiving a significant number of citations from other titles in this same group (4).
Copyright 0 1994 Butterworth-Heinemann
Theriogenology
728
In 1990, a special article appeared analyzing 10 years of publication of ZIeriogenology. It showed the journal to be enjoying a rising subscription rate and growing international readership. In addition, it also showed an increase in the number of published manuscripts originating from outside the United States (10). The special place that the journal occupies among animal science publications is also illustrated by the central role it plays in the communication of research results from the subspeciality of tropical animal reproduction. Theriogenology published the most articles on this topic originating from a wide range of countries (9). Since no study had been conducted on the subjects covered in the papers published in Eheriogenology, we decided to analyze these research topics and the contributing institutions and countries of a representative sample of journal issues. By analyzing the material published in a particular field of research, it is possible to tell which topics are of current interest and which researchers, institutions and countries are the most active. Moreover, other aspects of research activity can be measured such as how many authors collaborate to produce a single paper and the levels of international collaboration within the discipline. Many international journals have been the subject of such bibliographic inquiry. Nature and Science, for example, were compared with respect to the disciplines represented and the number of authors per paper, among other variables (6). Similarly, the distribution of reference citations to 2 New Zealand agricultural journals was carried out with a view to characterizing citation patterns to basic and applied journals in the field (1). The objective of the present study thus was to identify the research topics published in i%eriogenology in recent years as well as their authors and countries of origin. MATERIALS AND METHODS All papers including reviews, appearing in volumes 21122, 27/28 and 33134 of Theriogenology published in 1984, 1987 and 1990, respectively (with the exception of the January issue of each year which contains the papers presented at the Annual Conference of the International Embryo Transfer Society), were analyzed according to the following parameters: country and institutional affiliation of all authors; principal activity of the contributing institutions; gender, species and reproductive events studied, and the number of authors per paper. Coding was carried out manually, and the information program (Ashton, Tate, CA, USA).
was processed using DBase III
RESULTS A total of 503 articles was analyzed in this study. While the number of papers published was similar in 1984 and 1987 (148 and 1.54 respectively), the number increased by 30.5% in 1990 to 201 manuscripts. In the 3 yr studied, a total of 29 (5.8%) papers was internationally coauthored, 5 in 1984, 4 in 1987 and 20 in 1990. Of the total! 28 papers involved collaboration between 2 countries, and 1 paper between 3 countries. During the 3 yr studied, papers from the United States and Canada accounted for 63.1% of the total articles published, followed by Europe with 14.3% and Asia with 12.0%. Other regions contributed less than 5% each; Latin America, for instance, accounted for only 2.3%. The number of papers in each of the 3 yr studied, based on the geographical region of the authors, is given in Figure 1. The United States and Canada accounted for by far the highest number of papers in all 3 yr. In the last 2 yr studied, there was little difference
Theriogenology
between the number of papers from Europe and Asia, while in 1984, the first year of the review, European papers outnumbered those from the Asian countries. At least 1 paper from each of 41 countries was published during the years of analysis. The 13 most productive countries shown in Figure 2 produced 479 papers accounting for 90% of the total for the 3 yr. Since Theriogenology is published in the United States, this country was responsible for the greatest number of papers, increasing from around 16% of the total in 1984’to 21% in 1990. A decrease in the percentage of participation from 1984 to 1990 was noted for certain of the European countries such as France, Great Britain and Sweden, while the Asian countries, India and Japan, showed an increase, albeit a very slight one in the case of India and a significantly larger increase for Japan. The female animal was the sole subject in 63.2 % (n=3 18) of the papers, while the male was represented in 18.1% (n =91) of the studies; 2 % (n = 10) of the papers involved both sexes. Papers on techniques such as manipulation and freezing of embryos and on other studies whose objectives were not specifically related to either gender accounted for 16.7% (n=84) of the total. In both 1987 and 1990 more papers were published in this last category than those that focussed on the male. The number of in vitro studies increased from 24.3% in 1984, to 27.3% in 1987 and 38.8% in 1990, suggesting a shift from field studies to those carried out in the laboratory. The 10 most frequently studied species are indicated in’Figure 3. This group represents 95.4% of the total number of papers. Cattle were by far the most researched species, ‘being the subject of 44.3% (n=233) of papers, followed by sheep with 13.5% (n=71). All species showed an increase between 1984 and 1990 except horses, whose representation declined gradually from 1984 through 1987 to 1990. The female was studied more than the male in all the species. In cattle and pigs there were more studies where the sex of the animals was not mentioned than those reporting on the male. Most of the papers on laboratory animals (rodents and leporids) made no distinction between the sexes. The total number of papers which could be classified by reproductive event was 213. Eight of the reproductive events which are shown in Figure 4 represented 98.6% of the total taken over the 3 yr analyzed, with estrous cycle and fertilization contributing 50% of the published papers. Estrous cycle was the most popular subject in all 3 yr, notwithstanding that its popularity declined considerably between 1984 and 1990. The percentage of papers on puerperium, parturition and lactation declined, giving way to a marked increase in articles on fertilization. When classifying the papers by field, endocrinological studies and those on embryo transfer were the subject of 45% of the total (26.8 and 18.2%, respectively) number of papers published, with physiology, artificial insemination, pathology, reproductive efficiency, evaluation of reproductive performance and genetics occupying the subsequent positions. The female was studied more than the male in all fields except in the subjects of artificial insemination and the evaluation of reproductive performance, in which the male prevailed. Most papers were written by 3 authors, and accounted for 28.1% of the total published in 1984, 1987 and 1990, although in the latter 2 yr the number of 3 author papers declined (Figure 5). Single author papers also showed a marked decline. Between 1984 and 1990 there was a notable increase in the number of authors for each paper, with increases in 2 author, 4 author, and 5 to 7 author papers. Two papers submitted by 10 authors appeared in 1987 and 1990. Table 1 contains the names of the 13 institutions from which authors contributed 31.2% of the papers in the 3 yr studied. Universities in the United States occupied the top 3 positions,
Figure
AFRICA
AND N.Z.
1. Papers
published
LATIN AMERICA
AUSTRALIA
ASIA
EUROPE
U.S.A. AND CANADA
m
5
in Theriogenology
0
@$$$$j 1987 by geographical
1984
IO
15
region
PERCENTAGE
in 1984,
1,1990
20
1987
and 1990.
25
g 0‘ 9
9
2.
s!
JAPAN
INDIA
CANADA
STATES
Figure
0
-
5
1984
1987
and
in Theriogenology
in 1984,
published
contributions
2. Papers
SWEDEN
NEW ZEALAND
IRELAND
ISRAEL
GREAT BRITAIN
NIGERIA
WEST GERMANY
FRANCE
AUSTRALIA
UNITED
1990.
by the
ml987
D
I
13 countries
10 PERCENTAGE
15
t
/
with
1990 the
most
20
Figure
0
3. The
LEPORIDS
DOGS
POULTRY
GOATS
RODENTS
BUFFALOES
PIGS
HORSE&
SHEEP
CATTLE
ten most
studied
species
-1984
5
I
in Theriogenology
ml987
10 PERCENTAGE
I
1987
1990 1984,
m
15
and 1990.
20
$ 0‘ 9
CYCLE
Figure
4. The
eight
most
MENSTRUAL CYCLE (Primates)
PUBERTY
LACTATION
PARTURITION
PUERPERIUM
GESTATION
FERTILIZATION
ESTROUS
studied
0
4
2
reproductive
-1984
I
I
I
events
IO
~1990 in Theriogenology
ml987
6 8 PERCENTAGE
I
1984,
1987
12
l-
and
1990.
14
Y
Figure
TEN
NINE
EIGHT
SEVEN
SIX
FIVE
FOUR
THREE
TWO
ONE
5. Number
0
of authors
2
per
-1984 paper
4
L
published
=I990
8
in Theriogenology
k%%8 1987
PERCENTAGE
6
-
1984,
1987
10
and
1990.
12
2 B 9
Theriogenology with the University of Wisconsin at Madison being the major contributing institution. Other institutions on the list are the USDA in fourth place and the French INRA in eighth place. Table
1.
Papers authored contributions
by the 13 institutions
Institution
No. of papers
University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Florida Texas A 61M University U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cornell University University of Missouri Colorado State University Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), France North Carolina State University University of California University of Illinois University of Pennsylvania Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Total
34 24 21 19 15 15 14
with the most Percentage of total
(2.7) (2.2)
14 14 14 12 11 10
217
(1.4) (31.2)
In all, 138 institutions of higher education are represented by authors of at least 1 paper in Thcriogenology in 1984, 1987 and 1990, 53.1% of the total number of participating institutions. The remaining 2, major types of institutions represented by contributions to the journal were 49 research centers and 43 centers from the private sector, representing 35% of the total number of published papers. Government institutions represented only 6.5 % of the published papers. Higher education institutions participated in almost 70% of the total number of published papers, followed by research institutes with only 12.8% of the total. Similarly, participation for both public and private sectors was 8.4 and 7.9%, respectively. DISCUSSION The increase in the number of papers published in fieriogenology in 1990 reflects the gradual increase in the number of papers submitted for publication over the decade of the 1980’s. The sustained position of the journal as 1 of the 2 or 3 veterinary journals most frequently cited in the field of veterinary medicine makes it an obvious choice of researchers in animal reproduction both for suscribing to and publishing in. The editors expect the number of submissions to increase still further as a result of their policy to review each paper by a minimum of 2 referees in accordance with the standards required by tenure and promotion boards (10). The journal’s editorial policy of willingness to assist in the publication of deserving manuscripts from around the world is apparent from our results of our survey even though the
736
Theriogenology
large majority of authors and subscribers continue to be from the United States and Canada. The greater participation of Asian countries to the detriment of European papers is probably the result of an increase in the number of papers submitted for publication by Japan, which submitted only 2 papers in 1981 and 15 in 1988. While European countries such. as the United Kingdom and France showed yearly fluctuations in the number of papers published, little overall change occurred during these 3 yr (10). The low participation by African and Latin American scientists is disappointing, especially as these countries tend to be visible in international congresses such as those on animal reproduction and artificial insemination (8). Studies originating from Latin America, for instance, accounted for approximately 10% of the papers presented at the international congresses but only 2.3 96 of those published in our present analysis. The high editorial standards and the rigorous peer review evaluation of a mainstream journal like Theriogenology probably goes a long way to explaining such a discrepancy. In fields of special local expertise and interest, such as tropical cattle reproduction, Latin America is highly visible. Almost 30 % of the articles indexed in CAB ABSTRACTS between 1971 and 1985 on this topic were by Latin American authors (9). However, it should be noted that CAB International covers a large number of national journals, most of which are published in the local languages of the region and which do not have the wrdespread readership of the mainstream journals. The observation that researchers publishing in Theriogenology often center their attention on reproduction in the cow is consistent with previous findings (8,9). In spite of the ecological objections against the raising of cattle, our findings suggest that research in this species is likely to increase. The increase in the number of papers on sheep could be related to the lower cost of research in these ruminants compared with that of cattle. In the case of reproductive events, the tendency for authors to move away from the topic of the estrous cycle in favor of fertilization probably reflects a growing interest in improving reproductive performance. Fertilization failure remains a serious gap in our current knowledge of animal reproduction. By contrast, puberty studies are poorly represented in spite of their economic importance. This limitation can perhaps be explained by the long-term nature of doing puberty studies. An analysis of the agricultural papers indexed in Indian Science Abstracts from the mid 1970’s to the beginning of the 1980’s showed a trend toward multiple authorship, which had remained steady at around 2.3 authors per paper (2). In our present present survey, we noticed a marked decrease in the number of single author papers and a concurrent rise in papers with 2, 4, 5 or more signatories. Against this general trend, papers with 3 authors showed a decline. The number of papers written with international collaboration grew 4 to 5-fold between 1984 and 1990. An increase in the number of scientists coauthoring papers is a reflexion of greater team-work which is required to fulfill present-day standards of highly specialized, complex and interdisciplinary scientific research. The search for financing, shared resources and expertise involved in today’s highly technical and costly research effort has encouraged scientists to pool both material and intellectual capabilities, involving cooperation at the international level (7). The involvement of the higher education sector in the growth of Theriogenology is indicated by the composition of its editorial board, of which 21 of 25 members belong to university departments, including all the United States and Canadian members. Seven members of the editorial board belong to institutions on the’list of 13 from which the most papers were published. Japan has a single member on the editorial board, which might explain the increased
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interest by Japanese authors to publish in the journal. However, there are no representatives from eastern European countries nor from countries in the developing world. However, it is possible that authors from these regions might be encouraged by the presence of a national or regional representative on the editorial board to submit more manuscripts for consideration. Theriogenology has sought to publish papers from a wide variety of global regions in order to serve the international scientific community and to provide a forum for theriogenologists (10). There is no doubt of the continued acceptance of Theriogenology as one of the leading journals in the veterinary field. We hope the present analysis will help, in some small measure, to guide editorial policy towards its intended goals. REFERENCES 1. Balog C. The distribution of reference citations in two agricultural journals. Scientometrics 1985;7: lOl104. 2. Begum KJ, Sami LK. Research collaboration in agricultural science. Int Libr Rev 1988;20:57-63. 3. Boyd CT, Hull DC, MacNeil KJ, Malamud J, Anderson DC. Basic list of veterinary medical serials 2nd Edition. 1981. with revisions to A~til 1. 1986. Ser Libr 1986: 115-39. 4. Garfield E. Journal citation studies. 35. ‘Veterinary journals: What they cite and vice versa. Essays of an Information Scientist 1981-82;5:464-472. Journal Citation Reports. Institute for Scientific Information. Philadelphia, 1985-1991. ‘6: Kaneiwa K, Adachi J, Aoki M, Masuda T, Midorikawa N, Tanimura A, Yamazaki S. A comparison between the journals Nature and Science. Scientometrics 1988; 13: 125-133. 7. Luukkonen T, Tijssen RJW, Persson 0, Sivertsen G. The measurement of international scientific collaboration. Scientometrics 1993;28: 15-36. 8. Mirandt A, Russell JM, Galina CS, Navarro-Fierro R. Research in animal reproduction: an analysis of the contribution made by Latin America. Theriogenology 1987;28: 121-127. 9. Russell JM, Galina CS. Research and publishing trends in cattle reproduction in the tropics: Part 2. A Third World prerogative. Anim Breed Abstr 1987;55:819-828. 10. Shille VM, Cech E. A decade of publishing Theriogenology. Theriogenology 1990;34: 1-6.