The DOI matches its Crossref record; 25 of the 26 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Why do Some Countries Publish More Than Others? An International Comparison of Research Funding, English Proficiency and Publication Output in Highly Ranked General Medical Journals
Abstract
National factor(s) influencing publication output in the highest ranked medical journals are largely unknown. We sought to examine the relationship between national research funding and English proficiency on publication output. We identified all original research articles appearing in the five highest ranked general medical journals between 1997 and 2001. Using the country of the corresponding author as the source nation for each article, we determined a standardized publication rate across developed nations. We used multiple regression techniques to determine the influence of national expenditures on research and scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), a surrogate for English proficiency, on publication output. There was a significant relationship of national spending on research and TOEFL scores to publication output of developed countries (p = 0.04; p < 0.01, respectively). These two variables explained approximately 71.5% of the variation in publication rate across developed nations around the world (R = 0.85; p < 0.01). Normalized for population size, English-speaking nations and certain northern European countries such as Denmark, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden had the highest rate of publication in the five highest ranked general medical journals, while Asian countries had generally low rates of publication. Research spending and English proficiency were strongly associated with publication output in the highest ranked general medical…
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“Indeed, several studies relate scientific output to national spending on research and development, the number of universities in a country, GDP, and English proficiency (Man et al. 2004; Meo et al. 2013; Jamjoom and Jamjoom 2016; Mueller 2016).”
From Bioinvasion impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human health in the Mediterranean Sea (2022) · cites this paper as Man et al. 2004
Citations
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Academic publishing and the myth of linguistic injustice
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Metadata
- Authors
- Man, J. P., Weinkauf, J. G., Tsang, M., & Sin, J. H. D. D.
- Affiliations
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- ORCID
- Weinkauf, Justin G.
- Venue
- European Journal of Epidemiology
- Published
- 2004-08
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 811-817
- ISSN
- 0393-2990 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-7284
- OpenAlex
- W1969225797
- Cited by
- 315
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 8.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- European Journal of Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › scientometrics and bibliometrics research
- Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Academic Writing and Publishing
- Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Academic Publishing and Open Access
- Keywords
- publication output, research funding, English proficiency, TOEFL scores, medical journals, cross-national comparison, research productivity
- MeSH terms
- Language, Periodicals as Topic, Publishing, Bibliometrics, Biomedical Research, Internationality
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- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Why do Some Countries Publish More Than Others? An International Comparison of Research Funding, English Proficiency and Publication Output in Highly Ranked General Medical Journals. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1023/b:ejep.0000036571.00320.b8
- The paper
- Man, J. P., Weinkauf, J. G., Tsang, M., & Sin, J. H. D. D. (2004). Why do Some Countries Publish More Than Others? An International Comparison of Research Funding, English Proficiency and Publication Output in Highly Ranked General Medical Journals. European Journal of Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1023/b%3Aejep.0000036571.00320.b8
