Doctoral academic S&E workforce: Includes those with a research doctorate in science, engineering, or health who are employed in 2- or 4-year colleges or universities, including medical schools and university research institutes, in the following positions: full and associate professors (referred to as senior faculty); assistant professors (referred to as junior faculty); postdoctorates (postdocs); other full-time positions, such as instructors, lecturers, adjunct faculty, research associates, and administrators; and part-time positions of all kinds.
European Union (EU): As of June 2013, the EU comprised 27 member nations: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Croatia joined the EU in July 2013. Unless otherwise noted, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data on the EU include all 28 members; data on the EU from other sources are limited to the 27 nations that were members as of June 2013.
Federally funded research and development center (FFRDC): R&D organization exclusively or substantially financed by the federal government, either to meet particular R&D objectives or, in some instances, to provide major facilities at universities for research and associated training purposes. Each FFRDC is administered either by an industrial firm, a university, or a nonprofit institution.
File year: Year in which an S&E article entered Thomson Reuters’ S&E publication database, which may be later than the year in which the S&E article was published.
Fractional counting: Method of counting S&E publications in which credit for coauthored articles is divided among the collaborating institutions or countries based on the proportion of their participating departments or institutions. For example, the United States and China would each be credited half of a count for an article with a U.S. coauthor and a Chinese coauthor.
Index of highly cited articles: A country’s share of the top 1% most-cited S&E articles divided by the country’s share of all cited S&E articles. An index greater than 1 means that a country has a disproportionately higher share in highly cited articles; an index less than 1 means the opposite.
Index of international collaboration: A country’s share of another country’s internationally coauthored articles divided by the other country’s share of all internationally coauthored articles. An index greater than 1 means that a country pair has a stronger-than-expected tendency to collaborate; an index less than 1 means the opposite.
Net assignable square feet (NASF): Unit for measuring research space. NASF is the sum of all areas on all floors of a building assigned to, or available to be assigned to, an occupant for a specific use, such as research or instruction. NASF is measured from the inside face of walls.
Relative citation index: A country’s share of another country’s cited S&E articles divided by the other country’s share of all cited S&E articles. An index of greater than 1 means that the country has a higher-than-expected tendency to cite the other country’s S&E literature; an index less than 1 means the opposite.
Research space: The budgeted and accounted for space used for sponsored R&D activities at academic institutions. Research space is the net assignable square feet of space in buildings within which research activities take place. Research facilities are located within buildings. A building is a roofed structure for permanent or temporary shelter of persons, animals, plants, materials, or equipment. Structures are included as research space if they are (1) attached to a foundation; (2) roofed; (3) serviced by a utility, exclusive of lighting; and (4) a source of significant maintenance and repair activities.
Underrepresented minority: Demographic category including blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians or Alaska Natives, groups considered to be underrepresented in academic institutions.
Whole counting: Method of counting S&E publications in which each institution or country receives one credit for its participation in the article. Whole counting is used for coauthorship data. For example, the United States and China would each be credited one count for an article with a U.S. and Chinese coauthor.
