Scientometric Study of the Research Performance on Tsunami:

The Indian Perspective

Senthilkumar R, Surulinathi M Dr. R. Balasubramni

Librarian (S.S) Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore, India

Ph.D Research Scholar, DLIS, Annamalai University, India
Asst., Librarian, Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, Bangalore, India

Abstract
This paper attempts to analyze quantitatively the growth and development of Tsunami
Research in India in terms of publication output as reflected in Web of Science database (SCI) for
the period, 1998 to 2007. Tsunami researchers published a total of 133 papers during the period.
The study suggests that Tsunami research in India is still in its infancy.
Indext Terms:Tsunami, Scientometric Study, India

1. INTRODUCTION
Scientometric study is describes the output traits in terms of organizational research
structure, resource inputs and outputs, develops benchmarks to evaluate the quality of information
output. Scientometric studies characterize the disciplines using the growth pattern and other
attributes. These studies have potential particularly in assessing the emerging disciplines. Thus,
Scientometric Study of Research Performance of Tsunami has potential and enables the users to
get an understanding the structure of it.

1.1 About Tsunami

A tsunami is a series of waves created when a body of water, such as an ocean, is rapidly
displaced. Earthquakes, mass movements above or below water, volcanic eruptions and other
underwater explosions, landslides, large meteorite impacts and testing with nuclear weapons at
sea all have the potential to generate a tsunami. The effects of a tsunami can range from
unnoticeable to devastating. The Latin derivative of the word for the smaller waves experienced
across the Italian coast was Fillius Sum Sunamus which means, son of tsunamis, inspired by the
Japanese word similar to "tsunami" after relations with the shogun of Japan.

The tsunami affected India’s southeast coast, predominantly in the state of Tamil Nadu,
as well as the Indian territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In terms of the death toll, India
had the third highest total following Indonesia and Sri Lanka. On the Indian mainland, more than
8,800 people are confirmed dead with thousands more still missing. Of this total, almost 8,000 of
the deaths were from Tamil Nadu and 600 were from Pondicherry. At least 1,316 of the
Andaman and Nicobar islands' 400,000 people are confirmed dead and 5,542 are missing - 4,500
from Katchall island alone. At least 140,000 Indians, mostly from fishing families, are being
sheltered in relief centers.

2. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY

The present study attempts to find out the publication pattern of researchers in Tsunami.
The study is based on the references and aims to analyse quantitatively the growth and
development of Tsunami in India in terms of publication output as reflected in Web of Science
database during years, 1998-2007. The authorship pattern and author productivity are
examined to identify the pattern of research contribution in Tsunami. The area-wise
research performance is analysed to identify hot area of research. The study is mainly
exploratory in nature in identifying research output of Indian researchers.

2.1 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to present the growth of literature and make the
quantitative assessment of status of researchers in Tsunami in India by analyzing the various
features. The specific objectives are:
 To measure the year-wise growth of publications in terms of input of records
 To measure the domain-wise contributions
 To measure the authorship pattern in the publications
 To measure the Source of publications
 To measure the format of publications

3. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Year-wise Distribution of Research Output in Tsunami

Tsunami research output of National level is mainly concentrated in the table 1. The
below table indicates the total output made by the Indian researcher between 1998-2007. The
number of publication is accounted to 1 in 1998 and it raised upto 62 in 2005. The publication
output in 2005 is noted to be the highest productivity of 46.62 per cent output over the study
period. From the discussion, it could be deduced that there is a gradual growth trend noted in
terms of publication output made by the Indian researchers. ln the present study the total output
has been observed to 133 for 10 years and no research output in 1999 to 2004.

Table 1 Showing Year-wise Distribution of Research Output in Tsunami

Publication Research Cum %

Year Output Percentage
2005 62 46.62 46.62
2006 45 33.83 80.45
2007 25 18.80 99.25
1998 1 0.75 100.00
Total 133 100.00

3.2 Author-wise Distribution of Research Output

The total contributions published by Indian researchers are calculated to 133 over the
study period. It could be noted that one-authored papers rank first in order sharing 22.56 per cent
of the total research output. The two-authored papers follow the second in order taking 18.80 per
cent of the total research contributions. The three-authored contributions take the third in the
order sharing 15.04 per cent of the total scientific research output during the study period. Four
and Five authored papers rank next in the order reporting 8 author contributions results in 12.73
per cent of total Tsunami research output. Dimri, VP has occupied the first rank in
publications. It can be clearly visualized from the below table 2 and 3.
Table 2. Showing Author wise distribution of Research Output

No of Authors No of Percentage Cum. %

Contribution
1 30 22.56 22.56
2 25 18.80 41.36
3 20 15.04 56.40
4 14 10.53 66.93
5 14 10.53 77.46
6 10 7.52 84.98
7 3 2.25 87.23
8 and Above 17 12.73 100.00
Total 133 100.00

Table 3 Showing Ranking of Individual Author

Research
Author Output %
DIMRI, VP 4 3.01
JAMBULINGAM, P 4 3.01
RAJENDRAN, CP 4 3.01
AGARWAL, N 3 2.26
AGARWAL, VK 3 2.26
BALARAMAN, K 3 2.26
DANIELSEN, F 3 2.26
DAS, PK 3 2.26
GUNASEKARAN, K 3 2.26
 HANSEN, LB 3 2.26
JOSEPH, A 3 2.26
KARUNAGARAN, VM 3 2.26
MURTHY, KSR 3 2.26
OLWIG, MF 3 2.26
PARISH, F 3 2.26
PRABHUDESAI, RG 3 2.26
RAJENDRAN, K 3 2.26
RASMUSSEN, MS 3 2.26
SELVAM, V 3 2.26
SORENSEN, MK 3 2.26
SRINIVASALU, S 3 2.26
67 Authors-2 Publications 67*2 1.50
317 Authors – 1 Publication 317*1 0.75

3.3 Institutions-wise Distribution of Research Output

Table 4 indicates Institution-wise Tsunami research productivity. It is noted that National

Institute of Oceanography ranks first in order by contributing 12.03 per cent of total research
output. National Institute of Oceanography have well established infrastructure facility related to
Tsunami. The second place in order is recorded by National Geophysics Research Institute which
shares 10.53 per cent, Indian Institute of Technology contributing 8.27 per cent of total scientific
research output of the specified institution takes third place in order. The other 92 Institutions
have given less than 10 research output.

Table 4. Showing Institutions-wise Distribution of Research Output

Research
Institution Name
NATL INST OCEANOG
NATL GEOPHYS RES INST
INDIAN INST TECHNOL
ANNA UNIV
CTR EARTH SCI STUDIES
MS SWAMINATHAN RES FDN
UNIV MADRAS
VECTOR CONTROL RES CTR
ANNAMALAI UNIV
BHARATHIDASAN UNIV
CENT SALT & MARINE CHEM RES INST
DEPT OCEAN DEV
GLOBAL ENVIRONM CTR
ISRO
Output %
16 12.03
14 10.53
11 8.27
9 6.77
7 5.26
6 4.51
5 3.76
5 3.76
4 3.01
3 2.26
3 2.26
3 2.26
3 2.26
3 2.26
 NATL CTR ANTARCTIC & OCEAN RES 3 2.26
NATL INST OCEAN TECHNOL 3 2.26
NORDECO 3 2.26
UNIV COPENHAGEN 3 2.26
20 Institutions – 2 Publications 20 1.50
85 Institutions – 1 Publication 85 0.75

3.4 Document-type wise Distribution

During the 10 years period (1998–2007) India has produced a total of 133 publications.
The highest numbers of publications were 91(68.42%) Journal articles, Letters 21(15.79%),
Editorial Materials 18(13.53%).

Table 5. Showing Document-wise Distribution of Research Output

Research
Document Type Output %
ARTICLE 91 68.42%
LETTER 21 15.79%
EDITORIAL MATERIAL 18 13.53%
CORRECTION 1 0.75%
NEWS ITEM 1 0.75%
REVIEW 1 0.75%
Total 133 100.00

3.4 Collaborative Country wise Distribution of Research Output

During the 10 years period (1998–2007), India has produced a total of 133 publications.
More than 9(6.77%) Collaboration with USA, 6(4.51%) Collaboration with Japan, 4(3.01%)
collaboration with England and Indonesia. It is well known that nowadays research is carried out
by group of researchers rather than by a single researcher.

Table 6. Showing Collaborative Country wise Distribution

Research
Country/Territory Output %
INDIA 133 100.00%
USA 9 6.77%
JAPAN 6 4.51%
ENGLAND 4 3.01%
INDONESIA 4 3.01%
CANADA 3 2.26%
DENMARK 3 2.26%
 MALAYSIA 3 2.26%
BELGIUM 2 1.50%
KENYA 2 1.50%
PEOPLES R CHINA 2 1.50%
SRI LANKA 2 1.50%
AUSTRALIA 1 0.75%
CHILE 1 0.75%
GHANA 1 0.75%
RUSSIA 1 0.75%

3.5 Subject Category-wise Distribution of Research Output

During 10 years period (1998–2007) India has produced a total of 133 publications have
contributed significantly to the following main domains which have been broadly grouped as:
 Multidisciplinary sciences
 Geosciences, multidisciplinary
 Oceanography
 Remote sensing
 Environmental sciences
 Imaging science & photographic technology
 Geochemistry & geophysics
 Infectious diseases
 Marine & freshwater biology
 Medicine, general & internal
 Biochemistry & molecular biology
 Engineering, civil
 Public, environmental & occupational health
 Construction & building technology
 Engineering, ocean
 Entomology
 Geology
 Immunology
 Microbiology
 Parasitology
 Pediatrics
 Psychiatry
 Tropical medicine
 Veterinary sciences
 Water resources

There were 64(48.12%) publications in ‘Multidisciplinary sciences’ domain followed by

31(23.31%) in ‘Geosciences, multidisciplinary’, 9(6.77%) publications in ‘Oceanography’,
8(6.02%) publications in Remote sensing, 5(3.76%) Publications in Environmental sciences and
Imaging science & photographic technology and others less than 5 in different disciplines and
growth of publications in each domain is given table 7.
 Table 7. Showing Subject Category-wise Distribution of Research Output

Research
Subject Category Output %
Multidisciplinary sciences 64 48.12
Geosciences, multidisciplinary 31 23.31
Oceanography 9 6.77
Remote sensing 8 6.02
Environmental sciences 5 3.76
Imaging science & photographic technology 5 3.76
Geochemistry & geophysics 4 3.01
Infectious diseases 4 3.01
Marine & freshwater biology 4 3.01
Medicine, general & internal 3 2.26
Biochemistry & molecular biology 2 1.50
Engineering, civil 2 1.50
Public, environmental & occupational health 2 1.50
Construction & building technology 1 0.75
Engineering, ocean 1 0.75
Entomology 1 0.75
Geology 1 0.75
Immunology 1 0.75
Microbiology 1 0.75
Parasitology 1 0.75
Pediatrics 1 0.75
Psychiatry 1 0.75
Tropical medicine 1 0.75
Veterinary sciences 1 0.75
Water resources 1 0.75

3.5 Source-wise Distribution of Research Output

During the 10 years period (1998–2007), India has produced a total of 133 publications in
Tsunami. More than 91(68.42%). Tsunami research was published in journals and the rest was in
others. The highest number of publications was 59(44.36%) in Current Science and 19(14.29%)
followed by International Journal of Remote Sensing, Earth Planets and Space and other journals
having less than 3 publications.
 Table 8. Showing Source-wise Distribution of Research Output
Source Title Record Count % of 133
CURRENT SCIENCE 59 44.36
JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF INDIA 19 14.29
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REMOTE SENSING 5 3.76
EARTH PLANETS AND SPACE 3 2.26
INDIAN JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCES 3 2.26
PHOTONIRVACHAK-JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN SOCIETY OF
REMOTE SENSING 3 2.26
SCIENCE 3 2.26
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH 2 1.50
CURRENT BIOLOGY 2 1.50
ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE 2 1.50
GONDWANA RESEARCH 2 1.50
LANCET INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2 1.50
MARINE GEOLOGY 2 1.50
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE 1 0.75
AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF
PSYCHIATRY 1 0.75
BMC INFECTIOUS DISEASES 1 0.75
BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 1 0.75
COASTAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL 1 0.75
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS 1 0.75
ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY 1 0.75
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 1 0.75
EPISODES 1 0.75
FEMS IMMUNOLOGY AND MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY 1 0.75
GEO-MARINE LETTERS 1 0.75
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 1 0.75
INDIAN PEDIATRICS 1 0.75
JOURNAL OF EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE 1 0.75
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY 1 0.75
JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED
FACILITIES 1 0.75
JOURNAL OF POSTGRADUATE MEDICINE 1 0.75
LANCET 1 0.75
MALARIA JOURNAL 1 0.75
MARINE ECOLOGY-AN EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE 1 0.75
MARINE GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCHES 1 0.75
NATURE 1 0.75
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY
A-MATHEMATICAL PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING
SCIENCES 1 0.75
PLOS MEDICINE 1 0.75
PURE AND APPLIED GEOPHYSICS 1 0.75
SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY 1 0.75
4. CONCLUSION

This paper has highlighted quantitatively the contributions made by the Indian Tsunami
researchers during 1998-2007 as reflected in Web of Science database. During 10 years period
(1998 –2007) Indian contributions in terms of number of publications is not significant. A
comparison of Indian output in relation to the world output (India 133 and International 2053)
may help in understanding the contribution in a better angle. Though the records available in the
Web of Science database reveal a small number, it is important that the Web of Science covers
only the peer-reviewed journals. If a broader coverage database is available, it may provide a
reasonable number of papers. We suggest for tracking citation record of papers so that the impact
of publications in Tsunami may be visible.

REFERENCES:

1. Bookstein, A. (1977). Patterns of scientific productivity and social change: A discussion of

Lotka’s law and bibliometric symmetry. Journal of the American Society for Information Science,
38, 206–210.
2. Bookstein, A. (2001). Implications of ambiguity for scientometric measurement. Journal of the
American Society for Information Science and Technology, 52, 74–79.
3. Egghe, L., Rousseau, R., & Van Hooydonk, G. (2000). Methods for accrediting publications to
authors or countries: Consequences for evaluation studies. Journal of the American Society for
Information Science, 51, 145–157.
4. Leydesdorff, L. and S.E. Cozzens, (1993), The delineation of specialties in terms of journals using
the dynamic journal set of the SCI, Scientometrics 26, 133-156.
5. Schubert, A. and T. Braun (1990), International collaboration in the sciences, Scientometrics 19,
3-10.
6. T. Braun, W. Glänzel, A. Schubert (1987),One more version of the facts and figures on
publication output and relative citation impact of 107 countries 1978-1980, Scientometrics, 11, 9–
15.
7. T. Braun, W. Glänzel, H. Grupp(1995) The scientometrics weight of 50 nations in 27 science
areas, 1989-1993. Part II Life Sciences, Scientometrics, 34, 207–237.
8. T. N. Van leeuwen, h. F. Moed, r. J. W. Tijssen, m. S. Visser, a. F. J. Van raan, (2001) Language
biases in the coverage of the Science Citation Index and its consequences for international
comparisons of national research performance, Scientometrics, 51, 335–346.
9. V. L. Simeon,B. Momcilovic, Z. Kralj, B. Grgas, Multivariate statistical analysis of the
bibliographic output from a research institution in relation to the measures of scientific policy,
Scientometrics, 9 (1986) 223–230.
10. Rudman, D.J. (1977). Characteristics of the Journal Literature of Finno- Ugric Studies. In
University of Chicago Graduate Library School, Masterof Arts Papers, vol. 26.
11. Van den Daele, W., W. Krohn, P. Weingart, eds., 1976, Geplante Forschung: Vergleichende
Studien iiber den Einfluss politischer Programme auf die Wissenschaftsentwicklung
(Suhrkamp,Frankfurt a.M.).