Category Archives: Data Type

Funding Data from Publication Acknowledgements: Coverage, Uses and Limitations

Data Type, Funding, Research Examples

This article contributes to the development of methods for analysing research funding systems by exploring the robustness and comparability of emerging approaches to generate funding landscapes useful for policy making. We use a novel dataset of manually extracted and coded data on the funding acknowledgements of 7,510 publications representing UK cancer research in the year 2011 and compare these ‘reference data’ with funding data provided by Web of Science (WoS) and MEDLINE/PubMed. Findings show high recall (about 93%) of WoS funding data. By contrast, MEDLINE/PubMed data retrieved less than half of the UK cancer publications acknowledging at least one funder. Conversely, both databases have high precision (+90%): i.e. few cases of publications with no acknowledgement to funders are identified as having funding data. Nonetheless, funders acknowledged in UK cancer publications were not correctly listed by MEDLINE/PubMed and WoS in about 75% and 32% of the cases, respectively. ‘Reference data’ on the UK cancer research funding system are then used as a case-study to demonstrate the utility of funding data for strategic intelligence applications (e.g. mapping of funding landscape, comparison of funders’ research portfolios).

FULL-TEXT at http://arxiv.org/pdf/1604.04896.pdf

Author(s): Nicola Grassano, Daniele Rotolo, Joshua Hutton, Frederique Lang, and Michael M. Hopkins
Organization(s): Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex
Source: Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology
Year: 2016

Global patent analysis of power lithium-ion battery separator

Data Type, Patents, Research Examples, Research profiling, Research Type

The development of technologies related to power lithium-ion battery separator has been taken place in recent years. In order to provide appropriate decision references for the industry development, patent analysis was carried out. On the basis of Derwent Innovation Index (DII), global patents related to power lithium-ion battery separator were analyzed from aspects of global development scale and trend, technology fields, geographic distribution, top assignees. The findings show that power lithium-ion battery separator industry has entered fast-growth stage. In branch technology fields, raw materials are the priority research and development (R&D) areas of power lithium-ion battery separator. Japan has applied for a large number of patents and occupied the leading position. Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation, Toray industries, Tonen Chemical Corporation possess strategic advantages over other enterprises in the current competitive situation of international separator market.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?tp=&arnumber=7385791&url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fxpls%2Fabs_all.jsp%3Farnumber%3D7385791

Author(s): Na Li; Quan Guan ; Siming Tan ; Yunfei Wang ; Zhiyong Chu ; Jin Liu
Organization(s): Qingdao Institute of Science & Tech. Inf.
Source: 2015 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM)
Year: 2015

Topic analysis and forecasting for science, technology and innovation: Methodology with a case study focusing on big data research

CTI, Funding, Future-oriented technology analysis, Research Examples,

Highlights

  • Data-driven clustering approach to group topics with high accuracy
  • Similarity measure approach to trace the interaction between topics in time series
  • Analyzing changes of TFIDF values of related topics to predict future trends
  • Technology Roadmapping to blend historical analysis and expert-based forecasting

The number and extent of current Science, Technology & Innovation topics are changing all the time, and their induced accumulative innovation, or even disruptive revolution, will heavily influence the whole of society in the near future. By addressing and predicting these changes, this paper proposes an analytic method to (1) cluster associated terms and phrases to constitute meaningful technological topics and their interactions, and (2) identify changing topical emphases. Our results are carried forward to present mechanisms that forecast prospective developments using Technology Roadmapping, combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies. An empirical case study of Awards data from the United States National Science Foundation, Division of Computer and Communication Foundation, is performed to demonstrate the proposed method. The resulting knowledge may hold interest for R&D management and science policy in practice.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162516000160

Author(s): Yi Zhang, Guangquan Zhang, Hongshu Chen, Alan L. Porter, Donghua Zhu, Jie Lu
Organization(s): University of Technology Sydney, Georgia Institute of Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology
Source: Technological Forecasting and Social Change
Year: 2016

An informatics-based analysis of developments to date and prospects for the application of microalgae in the biological sequestration of industrial flue gas

Patents, Research Examples, Research profiling, Research Type, S&T lit

The excessive emission of flue gas contributes to air pollution, abnormal climate change, global warming, and sea level rises associated with glacial melting. With the ability to utilize NOx as a nitrogen source and to convert solar energy into chemical energy via CO2 fixation, microalgae can potentially reduce air pollution and relax global warming, while also enhancing biomass and biofuel production as well as the production of high-value-added products. This informatics-based review analyzes the trends in the related literature and in patent activity to draw conclusions and to offer a prospective view on the developments of microalgae for industrial flue gas biosequestration. It is revealed that in recent years, microalgal research for industrial flue gas biosequestration has started to attract increasing attention and has now developed into a hot research topic, although it is still at a relatively early stage, and needs more financial and policy support in order to better understand microalgae and to develop an economically viable process. In comparison with onsite microalgal CO2 capture, microalgae-based biological DeNOx appears to be a more realistic and attractive alternative that could be applied to NOx treatment.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00253-015-7277-7

Author(s): Xi Zhu, Junfeng Rong, Hui Chen, Chenliu He, Wensheng Hu, Qiang Wang
Organization(s): Chinese Academy of Sciences, SINOPEC Research Institute of Petroleum Processing, Hubei University of Technology
Source: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Year: 2016

Navigating the innovation trajectories of technology by combining specialization score analyses for publications and patents: graphene and nano-enabled drug delivery

Future-oriented technology analysis, Patents, Research Examples, S&T lit, ,

In this study, we combine the specialization scores for publications and patents (the latter is a new indicator of cross-disciplinary engagement) to achieve more comprehensive navigation of the innovation trajectory of a technology. The patent specialization score draws upon counterpart research publication indicator concepts to measure patent diversity. Two nano-based technologies—Nano-enabled drug delivery (NEDD) and Graphene—provide contrasting explorations of the behavior of this indicator, alongside research publication indicators. Results show distinctive patterns of the two technologies and for the respective publication and patent indicators. NEDD research, as evidenced by publication and citation patterns, engages highly diverse research fields. In contrast, NEDD development, as reflected in patent International Patent Classifications (IPCs), concentrates on relatively closely associated fields. Graphene presents the opposite picture, with closely linked disciplines contributing to research, but much more diverse fields of application for its patents. We suggest that analyzing the field diversity of research publications and patents together, employing both specialization scores, can offer fruitful insights into innovation trajectories. Such information can contribute to technology and innovation management and policy for such emerging technologies.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11192-015-1826-9

Author(s): Seokbeom Kwon, Alan Porter, Jan Youtie
Organization(s): Georgia Institute of Technology
Source: Scientometrics
Year: 2016

Nano/micro-electro mechanical systems: a patent view

Citation analysis, CTI, Patents, Research Examples, Research profiling, Research Type, Strategic planning

Combining both bibliometrics and citation network analysis, this research evaluates the global development of micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) research based on the Derwent Innovations Index database. We found that worldwide, the growth trajectory of MEMS patents demonstrates an approximate S shape, with United States, Japan, China, and Korea leading the global MEMS race. Evidenced by Derwent class codes, the technology structure of global MEMS patents remains steady over time. Yet there does exist a national competitiveness component among the top country players. The latecomer China has become the second most prolific country filing MEMS patents, but its patent quality still lags behind the global average.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11051-015-3273-1

Author(s): Guangyuan Hu and Weishu Liu
Organization(s): Shanghai University of Finance and Economics,Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Source: Journal of Nanoparticle Research
Year: 2015

Analysis of Technological Developments in the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease through Patent Documents

Patents, Research Examples, Research profiling, Research Type

Population aging and the consequent change in the profile of the age pyramid are already a reality the world over. One undeniable effect of this aging process is the significant increase in the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which is the most common form of dementia, accounting for around 50% – 60% of all cases. AD tends to affect people in their 60 s, becoming progressively more commonplace in older age groups. It is an incurable disease, and patients can live for many years taking medication on a daily basis. This study shows that research into AD is on the rise around the world because the pharmaceutical industry and research institutions are seeking new types of drugs to treat and even cure Alzheimer’s patients. By analyzing patent documents, we
map out the potential future treatments for this disease, indicating the leading countries and drugs companies that have invested most in a bid to accelerate progress towards new discoveries about the disease and the development of new drugs.

Analysis of Technological Developments in the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease through Patent Documents

Author(s): Karinne Marieta Carvalho, Eduardo Winter, Adelaide Maria de Souza Antunes
Organization(s):  Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and INPI—Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property
Source: Intelligent Information Management
Year: 2015

Mapping the landscape of climate engineering

Data Type, Patents, Research Examples, Research profiling, Research Type, S&T lit

In the absence of a governance framework for climate engineering technologies such as solar radiation management (SRM), the practices of scientific research and intellectual property acquisition can de facto shape the development of the field. It is therefore important to make visible emerging patterns of research and patenting, which we suggest can effectively be done using bibliometric methods. We explore the challenges in defining the boundary of climate engineering, and set out the research strategy taken in this study. A dataset of 825 scientific publications on climate engineering between 1971 and 2013 was identified, including 193 on SRM; these are analysed in terms of trends, institutions, authors and funders. For our patent dataset, we identified 143 first filings directly or indirectly related to climate engineering technologies—of which 28 were related to SRM technologies—linked to 910 family members. We analyse the main patterns discerned in patent trends, applicants and inventors. We compare our own findings with those of an earlier bibliometric study of climate engineering, and show how our method is consistent with the need for transparency and repeatability, and the need to adjust the method as the field develops. We conclude that bibliometric monitoring techniques can play an important role in the anticipatory governance of climate engineering.

Full-text available at  http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/372/2031/20140065.full

Author(s): P. Oldham, B. Szerszynski, J. Stilgoe, C. Brown, B. Eacott, A. Yuille
Organization(s): Lancaster University and University College London
Source: Philosophical Transactions A
Year: 2014

Technological Prospection on Nanotechnologies Applied to the Petroleum Industry

Patents, Research Examples, Research profiling, Research Type

This paper presents a technological prospection on nanotechnologies applied to the petroleum industry through the creation of a worldwide overview regarding scientific paper publications and patents concerning that business, with the purpose of identifying the main trends on research and development (R&D), the annual evolution, as well as the key agents and countries involved. In this research, it was possible to verify the presence of services oil companies, like Baker, Schlumberger and Halliburton. In scientific paper publications, it was possible to observe university departments, related to petroleum studies, from different countries, as Thailand, China, USA, Iran.

Author(s): M.A. Parreiras, Viviane; M. de S. Antunes, Adelaide
Source: Recent Patents on Nanotechnology http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ben/nanotec/2015/00000009/00000002/art00006
Year: 2015

Graphene Research and Enterprise: Mapping Innovation and Business Growth in a Strategic Emerging Technology

CTI, novel source, Research Examples, Research Type, Science mapping, ST&I indicators

This paper presents the results of research to develop new data sources and methods that can be combined with existing information for real-time intelligence to understand and map enterprise development and commercialisation in a rapidly emerging and growing new technology. As a demonstration case, the study examines enterprise development and commercialisation strategies in graphene, focusing on a set of 65 graphenebased small and medium-sized enterprises located in 16 different countries. We draw on available secondary sources and bibliometric methods to profile developments in graphene. We then use computerised data mining methods and analytical techniques, including cluster and regression modelling, to identify patterns from publicly available online information on enterprise web sites. We identify groups of graphene small and medium-sized enterprises differentiated by how they became involved with graphene, the materials they target, whether they make equipment, and their orientation towards science and intellectual property. In general, access to finance and the firms’ location are significant factors that are associated with graphene product introductions. We also find that patents and scientific publications are not statistically significant predictors of product development in our sample of graphene SMEs. We show that the UK has a cohort of graphene-oriented SMEs that is signalling plans to develop intermediate graphene products that should have higher value in the marketplace. Our findings suggest that UK policy needs to ensure attention to the introduction and scale-up of downstream intermediate and final graphene products and associated financial, intermediary, and market identification support.

Author(s): Philip Shapira, Abdullah Gök, and Fatemeh Salehi Yazdi
Organization(s): Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, University of Manchester
Source: Nesta Working Paper Series
http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/graphene-research-and-enterprise-mapping-innovation-and-business-growth-strategic-emerging-technology
Year: 2015