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Papers written by Nobel Prize winners in physics before they won the prize: an analysis of their language and journal of publication

Author

Listed:
  • Caifeng Ma

    (Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China)

  • Cheng Su

    (Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China)

  • Junpeng Yuan

    (Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China)

  • Yishan Wu

    (Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China)

Abstract

In this paper, we analyzed data relating to the language of papers written by winners of Nobel Prizes in physics before they won the prize and their journals of publication, and we identified the change in scientific language corresponding with shifts of the center of the scientific world. Using the science citation index as the main data source, we also collected information on the distribution of prize-winning scientists by country, by each scientist’s number of published papers, and by language. We then analyzed their papers in terms of the different journals based in different countries. The results are presented in three parts: (1) the main languages used in the papers are English and German. The proportion of papers in English is gradually increasing, while that of papers in German is decreasing. (2) The prize winning scientists’ papers have been published mainly in journals in their own nation and in the United States. (3) Journals based in their own countries are very helpful to these scientists early in their careers.

Suggested Citation

  • Caifeng Ma & Cheng Su & Junpeng Yuan & Yishan Wu, 2012. "Papers written by Nobel Prize winners in physics before they won the prize: an analysis of their language and journal of publication," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 93(3), pages 1151-1163, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:93:y:2012:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-012-0748-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-012-0748-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Baffes, John & Vamvakidis, Athanasios, 2011. "Are you too young for the Nobel Prize?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(10), pages 1345-1353.
    2. Tibor Braun & Zsuzsa Szabadi-Peresztegi & Éva Kovács-Németh, 2003. "No-bells for ambiguous lists of ranked Nobelists as science indicators of national merit in physics, chemistry and medicine, 1901-2001," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 56(1), pages 3-28, January.
    3. Romualdas Karazija & Alina Momkauskaitė, 2004. "The Nobel prize in physics - regularities and tendencies," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 61(2), pages 191-205, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhiwei Zhou & Rui Xing & Jing Liu & Feiyue Xing, 2014. "Landmark papers written by the Nobelists in physics from 1901 to 2012: a bibliometric analysis of their citations and journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 100(2), pages 329-338, August.
    2. Julián D. Cortés & Daniel A. Andrade, 2022. "Winners and runners-up alike?—a comparison between awardees and special mention recipients of the most reputable science award in Colombia via a composite citation indicator," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-14, December.
    3. Jingda Ding & Yifan Chen & Chao Liu, 2023. "Exploring the research features of Nobel laureates in Physics based on the semantic similarity measurement," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(9), pages 5247-5275, September.

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