Library and Information Science

The present study is concerned with the number of the papers published in foreign journals contributed in 1976 by Japanese researchers in the biomedical fields. The papers published in foreign journals by these researchers of seventy two Japanese medical schools (including their affiliated research laboratories) are analysed as to the number and publishing trends, using Science citation index, 1976.

The total number of papers contributed by these researches to the foreign journals is 2,274 with an average of 31 per school, including joint researches of different medical schools.

The percentages of papers shared by the different school groups are as follows; two fifth (41.2%) by the 7 ex-Teidai group including the University of Tokyo, and one fourth (26.6%) by the 18 established national university group including Chiba University, jointly occupying nearly 70% of the total. Papers by the 13 established private, 8 prefectural and city, and 15 newly established universities and colleges account respectively 11.6%, 8.1% and 8.9% of the total number of papers.

Most conspicuous was the fact that there was only 3.6% of the total number of publications by the 11 newly-established national school group including Asahikawa Medical College.

The total number of foreign journals publishing papers from Japanese researchers is 421, with the total number of papers reaching 2,043, counting a joint research between medical schools as one.

The language most frequently used in foreign journals is overwhelmingly English. The nationalities of publishers of journals are predominantly USA and United Kingdom. The major fields of contributions by Japanese biomedical researchers are biochemistry, medicine, neurology, cancer, experimental medicine, chemistry, physiology, endocrinology, immunology, virology, multidisciplinary science, and cardiovascular diseases, with papers in pre-medical science outnumbering those of clinical science as a general trend. Although the ratio of articles in foreingn languages appearing in Japanese journals to foreign journals by Japanese researchers may be considered approximately one to one, it appears to be a general tendency to publish slightly more papers in foreign journals.