Trends in cobalt-60 research in nuclear science and technology

Byline: Anil Sagar, B.S. Kademani, R.G. Garg, Vijai Kumar This paper quantitatively analyses the growth and development of cobalt-60 research in nuclear science and technology in terms of publications. As per the International Nuclear Information System (INIS) database during 2000-2007, a total of 5874 publications were published. The highest number of papers in a year (896) was in 2002. The average number of publications per year was 734.25. China topped the list with 960 (14.96%) publications followed by Japan with 600 (9.35%), India with 463 (7.21%), Brazil with 339 (5.28%), and the Russian Federation with 266 (4.14%). The authorship and collaboration trend is towards multiauthored papers. Researchers in China, Japan, the Russian Federation and the USA were inclined to work in larger groups. The highly productive institutions were Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, India, with 260 publications; Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN), Brazil with 151 publications; and Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI), Japan with 94 publications. The journals most preferred by scientists for the publication of papers were Acta Agriculturae Nucleatae Sinica with 183 publications, followed by Chinese Journal of Radiological Medicine and Protection with 182 publications and Radiation Physics and Chemistry with 175 publications.