Comparison of Disciplinary Structure in Science between G7 and the BRIC countries by bibliometric methods

摘要

Using a collection of papers gathered from the Web of Science, and classifying disciplines through the JCR classification scheme, this paper compares the disciplinary structure of the G7 countries (representing high S&T level countries) and the BRIC countries (representing fast breaking countries in S&T) by bibliometric methods. It further analyzes the similarity and the balance of their disciplinary structure. We found that: (1) Scientific and technological development is associated with national disciplinary structure. (2) The disciplinary structure of the BRIC countries becomes more and more similar to that of the G7 countries. (3) The disciplinary structure of the G7 countries is more balanced than that of the BRIC countries (4) In the G7 countries more emphasis goes to the life sciences, while BRIC countries focus on Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Engineering.