Abstract:

Currently, there is no clear, well documented image about the competitiveness of Romanian research in the field of chemistry at nationally and internationally levels. Therefore, our aim was to identify the main research directions in Romanian chemistry and their potential. Also, starting from criteria and a set of indicators which can be evaluated in national and international contexts, the strongest and most active areas of research in Romanian chemistry were identified and pointed out.
The approached methodology is based on the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) thematic classification, developed by the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) and used by the Web of Science.
In order to collect data concerning scientific publications by Romanian authors, from 2002 to September 2012, a specific database was created which contains information about publications in ISI journals, having as a primary source the ISI - Web of Science database and as secondary sources information provided by Scimago. The designed database can be updated continuously, making it an effective tool for analysis, evaluation and to conduct research strategy at national level in the field of chemistry.
Due to the implementation of initiatives/programs to stimulate research, development and innovation (RDI) activities, it was observed that, throughout the analysed period, the number of ISI articles was increased in two times. Upon analysis, it appears that Romanian chemistry generates about 27% of ISI publications. Romanian chemistry ranked 6th in the Eastern Europe and 31st in the world.

Acknowledgements:
This work was supported by project Romanian research potential in chemistry field No. 35 / 2012 (no. ANCS 10616/03.08.2011).

Keywords:

Romanian research, publications, Romanian chemistry