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AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE - STEADY STATE, OR DOWN-HILL?
30 October 1996

The Australian Academy of Science has published a study of the impact of Australian science on research around the world. The study analyses possible reasons for the decline in the number of Australian scientific papers cited in international scientific journals.

The study was provoked by the publication in 1994 of a review by researchers from the Australian National University, Paul Bourke and Linda Butler, called A crisis for Australian science? This review indicated that papers published in international scientific journals were quoting Australian results less often than they had been.

The Academy's study was carried out by a committee chaired by the Secretary (Science Policy), Dr Keith Boardman, with assistance from Dr Lyn Grigg and support from the Australian Research Council. They found that while there was a downward trend it had not been uniform across disciplines. They examined a number of possible causes.

The report stated, 'The likeliest cause of declining impact, although certainly not the only factor, was found to be an attenuation of the networks connecting Australia's younger researchers with their leading colleagues overseas. Combining this evidence with the obvious importance of such contacts to leading-edge research, we have grounds for recommending that further ways be found of promoting international links.'

Dr Boardman said, 'Australia's research performance, producing about 2 per cent of the world's research, is excellent for a country of its size. This study provides further evidence of the value of data about research and the importance of making sure that it is collected and analysed systematically and consistently across time and institutions. Many more hypotheses than we could examine should be studied in the future.'

The Academy will further investigate this evidence in coming months.