Analysis of Data

It should be recognised at the outset that the methodology used to evaluate publication output is limited in scope and accuracy.  Many publications that could validly be classified as analytical science appear in journals, which are not abstracted by Analytical Abstracts.  Examples would include specialist biological analyses, environmental analyses, etc.  In acquiring the survey data it also became clear that not all issues of relevant journals were included in Analytical Abstracts, and other important omissions were noted. The bibliometric data therefore provide only a very broad picture and it would be dangerous to use these data to draw firm conclusions. 

However, the data suggest the following general trends over the years 1996-2003:

• Australian publications in analytical science have remained more or less steady in number (about 200 per year) for the past 23 years.

• Within the ARC classification codes for analytical chemistry, about half of Australian publications (47.8%) are in separation science. Analytical spectrometry (19.4%) comprises a further very significant portion of publications, with other areas of analytical science being less strongly represented.

• Most States and Territories of Australia show a similar distribution of publications between ARC classification codes to that of the aggregate national figures Some of the exceptions are Tasmania (which has an increased proportion of publications in separation science and a decreased proportion in analytical spectrometry), ACT (which has a decreased proportion publications in separation science and an increased proportion of publications in immunological and bioassay methods).

• Most States and Territories of Australia have maintained a reasonably constant output of publications over the survey period. Some of the exceptions are NSW (which shows a significantly decreased output) and WA (which shows a significantly increased output).

• When only separation science is considered (since this is the major field of activity in Australia), most States and Territories of Australia show a reasonably constant output over the survey period. The separation technique featuring most prominently in publications is high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), followed by gas chromatography (GC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE).  

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