China’s SCI-Indexed Publications: Facts, Feelings, and Future Directions

• Main Author: Weishu Liu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2020-09-01
• Series: ECNU Review of Education
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531120933902

Purpose: In relation to the boom in China’s SCI-indexed publications, this opinion piece examines this phenomenon and looks at future possible directions for the reform of China’s research evaluation processes. Design/Approach/Methods: This opinion piece uses bibliographic data for the past decade (2010–2019) from the Science Citation Index Expanded in the Web of Science Core Collection to examine the rise in China’s SCI-indexed publications. Findings: China has surpassed the U.S. and been the largest contributor of SCI publications since 2018. However, while the impact of China’s SCI publications is rising, the scale of this impact still lags behind that of other major contributing countries. China’s SCI publications are also overrepresented in some journals. Originality/Value: Reporting the latest facts about China’s SCI-indexed publications, this article will benefit the reform of China’s research evaluation system.