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Objective: The overall aim of the present study was to compare the coverage of existing research funding information for articles indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases.
Methods: The numbers of articles with funding information published in 2015 were identified in the three selected databases and compared using bibliometric analysis of a sample of twenty-eight prestigious medical journals.
Results: Frequency analysis of the number of articles with funding information showed statistically significant differences between Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases. The largest proportion of articles with funding information was found in Web of Science (29.0%), followed by PubMed (14.6%) and Scopus (7.7%).
Conclusion: The results show that coverage of funding information differs significantly among Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases in a sample of the same medical journals. Moreover, we found that, currently, funding data in PubMed is more difficult to obtain and analyze compared with that in the other two databases.
INTRODUCTION
As funding is a significant factor enabling research projects [1], research institutions compete for grants on a routine basis [2]. Institutions with more grant funding have a greater ability to hire eminent researchers, provide access to advanced technology and research equipment, cooperate in major international scientific networks, gather new knowledge at top conferences, and/or hire leading external organizations to support the preparation of competitive project proposals. Subsequently, such institutions perform better research, publish more high-quality publications, and attract more citations [3, 4].
In previous studies, Boyack showed that articles resulting from large grants were cited more than those from small grants [5], and Wang and Shapira found that funded publications had more impact in terms of journal rankings and numbers of citations [6]. Consequently, knowledge about funding patterns found in funding statements could be of vital importance to researchers who are seeking grants and others who are interested in assessing the impact and outcomes of funding [7]. Funding patterns can be used for strategic intelligence applications, such as mapping funding landscapes and generating funding organization portfolios [8], and can be used to identify top-funded topics and themes, acquire lists of funding organizations, and locate successful grant holders for possible collaboration.
Some research funding information can be obtained directly from funding agency reports or databases. For example, in...