Publication
Title
How important is scientific software in bioinformatics research? A comparative study between international and Chinese research communities
Author
Abstract
Software programs are among the most important tools in data-driven research. The popularity of well-known packages and corresponding large numbers of citations received bear testimony of the contribution of scientific software to academic research. Yet software is not generally recognized as an academic outcome. In this study, a usage-based model is proposed with varied indicators including citations, mentions, and downloads to measure the importance of scientific software. We performed an investigation on a sample of international bioinformatics research articles, and on a sample from the Chinese community. Our analysis shows that scientists in the field of bioinformatics rely heavily on scientific software: the major differences between the international community and the Chinese example being how scientific packages are mentioned in publications and the time gap between the introduction of a package and its use. Biologists publishing in international journals tend to apply the latest tools earlier; Chinese scientists publishing in Chinese tend to follow later. Further, journals with higher impact factors tend to publish articles applying the latest tools earlier.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology. - New York, N.Y., 2014, currens
Publication
New York, N.Y. : Wiley , 2018
ISSN
2330-1635 [print]
2330-1643 [online]
DOI
10.1002/ASI.24031
Volume/pages
69 :9 (2018) , p. 1122-1133
ISI
000442990500005
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 08.10.2018
Last edited 09.10.2023
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