Impacts of international collaboration on the quality of researches published in International Academic Journals from the Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University

Abstract

A total number of 1,540 research papers were written from the Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, and published in international journals between 2010 and 2014, as presented in the Web of Science, SCOPUS, and PubMed databases. From the total number of published papers, 630 involved international collaboration. The proportion of multilateral and bilateral research was 53.80 and 46.20 percent, respectively. Twenty fi ve point three percent of multilateral researches received support from research institutions, 18.1 percent reached completion through collaboration with non-profit organizations, and 10.3 percent were funded by medical supply companies in the private sector.

The top three countries collaborating in research with the Faculty of Medicine were Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The top three international institutions that collaborated in research with the Faculty of Medicine were The University of Tokyo, Nihon University, and Nara Medical University. Most of the research papers were published by the Pre-clinical Departments. The top three institutions that collaborated in research publication with the Clinical Department were John’s Hopkins University, University of Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands and Erasmus Medical Center, The Netherlands.

Research quality was evaluated based on the average number of citations per publication through international collaboration, which was 26.54, 53.17, 10.17, 15.56 and 1.66 in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. On the other hand, the average number of citations per publication generated from domestic collaboration did not exceed 5.04 during the same years. The average number of citations per publication during each of the five years had a statistically significant variation, with p < 0.001 in both international and domestic collaborations. Research papers supported by private and non-profit organizations were written mostly for clinical, drug, and medical product testing; with their average citations per publication being higher than those from domestic institutional, multilateral, bilateral, and researcher’s institutional collaboration.

Research quality was assessed by the number of citations per publication that revealed statistically significant variations between international and domestic collaboration, and research papers completed through international collaboration yielded the higher value. It is therefore imperative to develop policies with clear strategies to support research collaboration with international institutions. Campaigns to develop researcher competency should be developed, as well as financial and resource support for researchers. Sustainable opportunities for researchers to train and improve research projects with international institutions should be provided. Furthermore, opportunities to collaborate with private organizations in developing commercial research projects to international standards should be encouraged. These efforts would produce researches that can improve quality of life and lead to the sustainable development of mankind.