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Scots scientists top of the class
04/02/2008
Scotland's reputation for world-leading research in science has been confirmed by a new report.
Scottish research is cited relatively more often than science's big hitters - the USA, Germany and China - placing Scotland second in the world for the impact of its research.
The report measures the average number of citations per paper over 10 years. Scotland's rate has been rising steadily and was beaten only by Switzerland.
Also, scientists in Scotland are world-leaders in highly specialised areas of research, with the impact of their work coming out top in the world for health and related sciences, second in clinical sciences and third in biological sciences.
Education and Lifelong Learning Secretary Fiona Hyslop said:
"Scotland has a long-standing reputation as a world leader in science. This report is deserved recognition of a continued commitment to furthering our knowledge and understanding of the world.
"Science is a growth industry and the quality and diversity of our research base means we can take advantage of the many opportunities for research and development in the future, as we strive to build a smarter and wealthier nation."
Chief Scientific Officer Anne Glover said:
"Scientists who work in Scotland can be very proud of their international impact and this will be an inspiration to our young people.
"The strength of our research base attracts leading scientists from around the world to Scotland. This report confirms the quality of science carried out here, and the potential it has to shape Scotland's future. Science will underpin our future economic success, helping us to win new investments and opportunities for the people of Scotland."
The report looked at the performance of Scottish scientific research against 26 other nations from 1995-2005. Factors measured include the amount of money spent on research, numbers of researchers employed, the number of citations of research papers.
Scottish research was the most cited amongst a group of comparator nations, when allowance was made for differences in the size of their economies as measured by gross domestic product. The countries identified included the UK, USA, France, Germany, Belgium and China.
The impact of research is measured by calculating the average number of citations per paper. Scottish citations have been increasing progressively between 1995 and 2005.