Highly Cited Papers at the Spanish Domestic Level

Area of Science:

• Bibliometrics
• Scientometrics
• Higher Education Research

Background:

• Assessing research impact within national contexts is crucial for understanding institutional performance.
• Existing methods often lack a domestic-level focus, potentially overlooking key national contributions.
• The Spanish Public University System (SUPE) provides a unique setting to explore research impact at a granular level.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a methodology for identifying highly cited papers (HCPs) at the domestic level within the Spanish Public University System (SUPE).
• To analyze the research activity and impact profiles of Spanish universities.
• To differentiate institutions based on their contributions to highly cited domestic-level publications.

Main Methods:

• Identification of highly cited papers (HCPs) using three citation thresholds (1%, 5%, 10%) within the Web of Science database.
• Domestic-level analysis focused on publications within the Spanish Public University System (SUPE).
• Thematic classification using Incites/Essential Science Indicators areas.

Main Results:

• Space Science shows a preponderance of HCPs, while polytechnic universities excel in Computer Science.
• Universities specializing in both teaching and research demonstrate a higher presence of HCPs.
• Large, non-specialized universities lead in absolute HCP production, but smaller, specialized institutions show greater efficiency in relative terms.

Conclusions:

• The proposed methodology offers a simple and effective way to assess research impact and visibility at a national level.
• This approach can be adapted to analyze research systems in any country, highlighting institutional strengths.
• Understanding domestic-level HCPs reveals nuanced differences in university research performance and efficiency.