Abstract
This paper explores the relationship between patenting and publishing in the field of nanotechnology for Chinese universities. With their growing patents, Chinese universities are becoming main technological source for nanotechnology development that is extremely important in China. Matching names of patentees to names of research paper authors in Chinese universities, we find 6,321 authors with patents, i.e. inventor–authors, and 65,001 without any patent. Research performance is measured using three indicators—publication counts, total citations and h-index received by each researcher. It is found that research performance of authors who are also inventors holding patents is better than that of those authors who do not have a patent, and that most of high quality research is performed by inventor–authors. Our findings indicate that patent-oriented research may produce better results.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bai, C. L. (2005). Ascent of nanoscience in China. Science, 309(5731), 61–63.
Braun, T., Schubert, A., & Zsindely, S. (1997). Nanoscience and nanotechnology on the balance. Scientometrics, 38(2), 321–325.
Egghe, L., & Rousseau, R. (2006). An informetric model for the Hirsch-index. Scientometrics, 69(1), 121–129.
Etzkowitz, H., & Leydesdorff, L. (1997). Universities and the global knowledge economy: A triple helix of university-industry-government relations. London: Cassell Academic.
Garfield, E. (1972). Citation analysis as a tool in journal evaluation. Science, 178(4060), 471–479.
Geuna, A., & Nesta, L. J. J. (2006). University patenting and its effects on academic research: The emerging European evidence. Research Policy, 35(6), 790–807.
Guan, J., & Ma, N. (2007). China’s emerging presence in nanoscience and nanotechnology: A comparative bibliometric study of several nanoscience ‘giants’. Research Policy, 36(6), 880–886.
Hirsch, J. (2005). An index to quantify an individual’s scientific research out-put. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(46), 16569–16572.
Hullmann, A., & Meyer, M. (2003). Publications and patents in nanotechnology: An overview of previous studies and the state of the art. Scientometrics, 58(3), 507–527.
Jin, B., Rousseau, R., & Sun, X. (2005). Key labs and open labs in the Chinese scientific research system: Qualitative and quantitative evaluation indicators. Research Evaluation, 14(2), 103–109.
Kostoff, R. N., Barth, R. B., & Lau, C. G. Y. (2008). Quality vs. quantity of publications in nanotechnology field from the People’s Republic of China. Chinese Science Bulletin, 53(8), 1272–1280.
Kostoff, R. N., Koytcheff, R. G., & Lau, C. G. Y. (2007). Global nanotechnology research metrics. Scientometrics, 70(3), 565–601.
Leydesdorff, L., & Meyer, M. (2003). The triple helix of university-industry-government relations. Scientometrics, 58(2): 191–203.
Leydesdorff, L., & Zhou, P. (2007). Nanotechnology as a field of science: Its delineation in terms of journals and patents. Scientometrics, 70(3), 693–713.
Li, X., Lin, Y., Chen, H., & Roco, M. C. (2007). Worldwide nanotechnology development: A comparative study of USPTO, EPO, and JPO patents (1976–2004). Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 9(6), 977–1002.
Meyer, M. (2006). Are patenting scientists the better scholars? An exploratory comparison of inventor–authors with their non-inventing peers in nano-science and technology. Research Policy, 35(10), 1646–1662.
Ministry of Education. (1999). The regulation regarding the protection and management of intellectual properties in higher education institutions. Act 3, No. 8120.
Moed, H. F. (2002). Measuring China’s research performance using the science citation index. Scientometrics, 53(3), 281–296.
PCAST (2005). The national nanotechnology initiative at 5 years. Washington, DC: President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Executive Office of the President.
Porter, A. L., Youtie, J., Shapira, P., & Schoeneck, D. J. (2008). Refining search terms for nanotechnology. Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 10(5), 715–728.
Zhou, P., & Leydesdorff, L. (2006). The emergence of China as a leading nation in science. Research Policy, 35(1), 83–104.
Acknowledgments
This research is funded by National Social Science Foundation of China (Project No. 08BJY031), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 70773006) and Shanghai Leading Academic Discipline Project (Project No. B210). The authors are very grateful for the valuable comments and suggestions of the anonymous reviewer and Prof. T. Braun. Prof. J. Schleich, Prof. J.Kohl and Mr. K. Ken Wang are also very grateful indeed for their carefully English corrections of the article.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
The authors’ names are alphabetically ordered and they contributed equally to this paper.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Guan, J., Wang, G. A comparative study of research performance in nanotechnology for China’s inventor–authors and their non-inventing peers. Scientometrics 84, 331–343 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0140-9
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0140-9