Citation analysis and co-authorship of Iranian researchers in the field of immunology in ISI Web of Science: a brief report.

Background: Currently, share of the scientific output, citation per paper, and coauthorship for articles indexed in databases such as ISI Web of Science, are very important criteria for the evaluation and ranking of countries, researchers, institutes, articles, disciplines and journals in the world. Therefore, the main objectives of the study were to determine co-authorship, the average citation per paper and the most prolific Iranian university or institution in the field of immunology. Methods: For performing this scientometric study, we employed survey methods and citation analysis of the indexed papers in the ISI Web of Science from 1974 to 2010. Results: A total of 1775 articles by Iranian authors in the field of immunology had been indexed in the database for the aforesaid period. Most collaborations and co-authorship of Iranian authors was with their counterparts from the USA. The average citation per paper in the field was 6.26 per paper. Tehran University of Medical Sciences had the highest number of articles in the database. Conclusion: According to the results, Iranians collaborated with American peers more than any other nationality and the average citation per paper in the field of immunology is higher than that of other fields in Iran but lower than the global average. Tehran University of Medical Sciences is the most prolific university in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]