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Research powerhouse: UCL top-cited in UK

15 July 2008

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Quad ucl.ac.uk/research" target="_self">UCL Research

UCL is the most-cited institution in the UK, and up one place from the last analysis to 13th in the world, according to new data released by the ISI Web of Knowledge's Essential Science Indicators.

The analysis covers citations from 1 January 1998 to 30 April 2008, during which 46,166 UCL research papers attracted 803,566 citations. The number of citations generated by academic publications is an important indication of institutional importance and influence.

The report covers citations in 21 subject areas. The results revealed some of UCL's key strengths:

  • in Clinical Medicine - top outside North America
  • in Neuroscience & Behaviour - top outside North America and second in the world
  • in Psychiatry/Psychology - second outside North America
  • in Immunology - second in Europe
  • in Pharmacology & Toxicology - top outside North America and fourth in the world
  • in Social Sciences, General - top outside North America.

Professor David Price, UCL Vice-Provost (Research), commented: "The volume of our publications in peer-reviewed journals reflects the excellence and productivity of our research activity. However, it is not enough for our research to be voluminous, or even excellent - it must have an impact on the world. The purpose of UCL's research is to address the world's grand challenges in global health, sustainable cities, intercultural understanding and human wellbeing. Publication is one significant process through which our work gains impact, and citations are a useful measure of that impact. This study makes clear the extent to which our activity is setting the agenda for research worldwide."

To find out more, use the links at the top of this article.

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In 2007 Thomson Scientific declared Visiting Professor John Birks (UCL Geography) to be the world's sixth most-cited geoscientist.

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