Research Emphasis of IISERs in Chemical Sciences from 2006 to 2020: A Scientometric Assessment

The mission of setting up of Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) was to create Science University of international standards in which quality education and research in basic sciences will be integrated. The present study focuses on the contribution of the faculty members of five IISERs in chemical sciences during the 15 years period from 2006 to 2020 to identify the research trend, publication pattern and scholarly impact. Chemistry was the most productive research area of selected IISERs and the faculty members contributed 3,973 articles of which 18.52% were internationally collaborated articles. The articles were analysed on the basis of different parameters like chronological distribution, communication pattern, areas of research emphasis, contribution of different institutes under IISERs and areas within Chemistry where they show strong presence, collaborating institutions and countries, leading authors and their citation impact. The study highlighted the important role of IISERs in strengthening Chemistry research in India. They have also established collaborative partnership among different countries as reflected in research publications. The publishing outputs demand more priority on other areas of fundamental sciences as well and the study may be helpful to policy makers/ authorities in determining allocation of resources of group of IISERs to augment more quality research.

Keywords: Chemical Sciences, IISERs, India, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, scientometrics.