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Arab nations lagging behind other Middle Eastern countries in biomedical research: a comparative study
Hani T S Benamer1, Omran Bakoush
1Department of Nephrology, Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. benamer@doctors.org.uk
BMC Medical Research Methodology
|April 21, 2009
Summary
Biomedical research output from Arab nations is significantly lower in both quantity and quality compared to non-Arab Middle Eastern countries. Further studies are needed to identify causes and improve the status of Arab biomedical research.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical research performance analysis.
- Comparative bibliometric study.
Background:
- Monitoring research progress and trends is crucial for national development.
- Assessing biomedical research output provides insights into scientific productivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the performance of biomedical research in the Arab world from 2001 to 2005.
- To compare the Arab world's biomedical research output with non-Arab Middle Eastern countries.
Main Methods:
- Systematic search of PubMed and Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-expanded).
- Inclusion of 16 Arab nations and three non-Arab Middle Eastern countries (Iran, Israel, Turkey).
- Analysis of original biomedical research publications and citation frequencies.
Main Results:
- Arab countries produced significantly fewer publications (5,775-14,374) than non-Arab Middle Eastern countries (25,643-49,110).
- Normalized data (per capita, GDP) also showed lower performance for Arab nations.
- Publications from Arab countries had significantly lower citation frequencies.
Conclusions:
- The Arab world lags behind other Middle Eastern countries in biomedical publication quantity and quality.
- Further research is required to understand the reasons for this disparity.
- Strategies are needed to enhance the biomedical research landscape in Arab countries.
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