Greek scientific publications continue their upward trend

Over the period 2004-2018, scientific publications from Greek institutions were distinguished for their quality and originality, constantly receiving citations internationally. Overall indicators for Greece and its comparative position in the EU and OECD are on the rise, as the performance of institutions is improving and the impact of the research work of the Greek scientific community is increasing, with the relevant publications indicator exceeding the global average for the first time in all six major scientific fields.

The above conclusions are drawn from the statistics and indicators published by the National Documentation Centre (EKT) for publications in international journals by scientists working in Greek institutions. The data on publications and reports used for the calculation of the indicators were taken from the international Web of Science database and cover the period 2004-2018.

The electronic publication 'Scientific Publications of Greek Institutions 2004-2018: Bibliometric analysis of publications in international scientific journals - Web of Science (http://report08.metrics.ekt.gr), which is accompanied by interactive charts in addition to the established indicators, includes for the first time indicators for the performance of Greek Regions. Also included are indicators for scientific publications in international Open Access journals, which reflect the participation and performance of the Greek research community in the free distribution of research results. Finally, for the first time, new high-impact indicators are introduced, which make it possible to compare national impact indicators with the corresponding average performance of the European Union.

More specifically, in 2018, 11,606 scientific publications from Greek institutions are recorded in the international scientific journals indexed by Clarivate’s Web of Science, achieving the highest annual performance for the entire period 2004-2018. At the same time, there is a significant increase in the publications of Greek organisations in the international Open Access journals (2,169 publications in 2018).

The impact indicator for publications (average reports per publication) is constantly increasing at rates significantly higher than those of the EU and OECD countries. Similarly, the percentage of publications receiving citations is above the EU and OECD average.

For the first time, the corresponding impact indicators for scientific publications in the five years 2014-2018 exceed the global average (1.00) in all scientific fields - Natural Sciences, Engineering & Technology, Medicine and Health Sciences, Agricultural Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities & Arts- with values ​​ranging from 1.09 to 1.36. The networking and co-operation of Greek scientists abroad is also intensifying, as co-publications with scientists from other countries continue to increase.

Since 2010, when the first relevant study was published, EKT has monitored international practices, systematically recorded the publishing activity of scientists in Greek institutions (Universities, Research Centres, Other Public Bodies, Public Hospitals, Private Health Bodies) and highlighted relevant characteristics and elements of the Greek research system.