Annals of Library Science and Documentation 1985,32(34),115-121

CORE JOURNALS IN SYNTHETIC ORGANICCHEMISTRY

Citation study of one secondary Journal,Journal of Synthetic Methods, and one primaryJournal, Synthesis,has been conducted to evalu-ate and identify the relevance of primary jour-nals. Analysis of citations have been made andperiodicals cited have been ranked.

Efficient information services from compre-hensive bibliographic databases, covering theworld scientific and technical literature increasethe demand of users for primary journals.Undoubtedly, there is a tremendous volume ofredundant information in the existing andnewly produced literature. Some authors esti-mate that only about 10% of the publishedliterature in science and technology con tainsnew facts and ideas and the rest is duplicatedinformation [1] .

The tremendous growth of chemical litera-ture has reflected in the 10th Collective Indexof Chemical Abstracts, comprising 75 volumesof 128,000 pages. Total abstracts referenced are2,202,000 (1,897,000 non-patents and 305,000patents) .

As explicitly stated by Bradford, relativelya small number of core journals contain asubstantial portion of journal literature havingbearing on a particular subject. The rest ofthe literature is scattered in a large number ofprimary journals [3]. Eugene Garfield hassuccessfully developed citation analysis as atool for the evaluation of primary journals [4].List of core journals based on citation studieshas been compiled in various subjects [5-111.

The process of selective acguisition, due toconstraints on library budget and escalatingcost of subscriptions has made essential theidentification of reasonably more relevantjournals that report substantial portion of litera-ture in synthetic organic chemistry. Therefore,a study has been' conducted to identify suchjournals and compile a list of core journals onthe subject on the basis of citation analysis ofone secondary journal and one primary journal.For the purpose of analysis, the Journal ofSynthetic Methods (secondary) and Synthesis(primary) have been selected as source journals.

Vol 32 Nos 3-4 September-December 1985

R. ELISHA RAJUKAVITHAIDPL Research CentreIndian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.Hyderabad 500037

SCOPE OF THE JOURNALS SELECTED FORTHE STUDY

The Journal of Synthetic Methods is amonthly abstracting publication of ChemicalReactions Documentation Service of DerwentPublications Limited, London, providing syste-matically up-to-date literature on:

Novel or unusual reactions and neworganic synthetic methods.

Known process effected by new reagentsor improved organic synthetic methods.

Interesting applications and extension ofknown reactions in the organic syntheticmethods.

Synthesis is devoted to the publication ofresearch papers in the field of new syntheticmethods, significantly improved syntheticmethods, new and/or significantly improvedpreparations of key substances and new classof compounds in synthetic organic chemistry.

METHODOLOGY

Abstracts of Journal of Synthetic MethodsVol. 7, 1981 (12 issues) have been examined toascertain the primary sources. Similarly, thebibliographical references cited in every issueof Synthesis, 1981 (12 issues) have been analys-ed.

ANALYSIS

Dispersion of literature (Table 1) revealsthat in both t!le periodicals, journal articles havebeen noticed more in number i.e. 3099 (91.12%)and 6203 (88.06%), which shows not onlytheir importance in communicating scholarlyliterature but also the extent to which thescientists depend upon this publicatio forgetting their work published. Next comes b »oksand patents.

RAJU & KA VITHA

Table 1 : Dispersion of literature

Type of Documents References Abstracted in Journalof Synthetic Methods 1981

References cited in Synthesis1981

Books

No. of Percentage No. of Percentagereferences references

3099 91.12 6203 88.05

34 1.00 536 7.61

268 7.88 226 3.21

42 0.60

19 0.26

11 0.16

8 0.11

J oumal articles

Patents

Dissertations/Thesis

Conference Papers

Reports

Unpublished/Private communications

Total : 3401 100.00 7045 100.00--------------------------------------------------------------------

Table 2: List of journals cited in Synthesis 1981

Rank Name of the Journal Number of Cumulative % CumulativeNo. Citations Number of %

Citations1. Journal of American Chemical Society 883 883 14.23 14.23

2. Joumal of Organic Chemistry 736 1619 11.86 26.09

3. Tetrahedron Letters 618 2237 9.97 36.06

4. Synthesis 385 2622 6.21 42.27

5. Chemische Berichte 306 2928 4.93 47.20

6. J ournal of the Chemic" Society 201 3129 3.24 50.44

7. JOUTD?~le Chemical Society: ChemicalCornmtencarion 188 3317 3.03 53.47

8. Liebigs Annalen der Chemie 160 3477 2.57 56.04

9. Tetrahedron 152 3629 2.45 58.49

10. Angewandte Chemie 136 3765 2.20 60.6911. Helvetica Chemica Acta 112 3877 1.80 62.49

12. J oumal of Organometallic Chemistry 110 3987 1.77 64.26

13. Bulletin of Chemical Society of France II 104 4091 1.67 65.93

14. Bulletin of Chemical Society of Japan 94 4185 1.51 67.44

15. J oumal of Chemical Society: Perkins Trans I 76 4261 1.22 68.66

16. Canadian Joumal of Chemistry 64 4325 1.03 69.69

17. J ournal of Heterocyclic Chemistry 56 4381 0.90 70.62

17. Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin 56 4437 0.90 71.52

17. Chemical Reviews 56 4493 0.90 72.42

116 Ann Lib Sci Doc

CORE JOURNALS IN CHEMISTRY

Rank Name of the Journal Number of Cumulative % CumulativeNo. Citation Number of %

Citations

18. Recueil des Travaux Chimiques Pays-Bas(journalof Royal Netherland Chemical Society) 55 4547 0.88 73.30

18. Journal of the Chemical Society "C" 55 4602 0.88 74.18

19. Chemistry Letters 51 4653 0.82 75.00

20. Comptes Rendus Series "C" 48 4701 0.77 75.77

21- Australian Journal of Chemistry 40 4741 0.64 76.41

22. Monatshefte fur Chemic 37 4778 0.59 77.00

22. Zeitschrift fur Naturforschung Sec. B 37 4815 0.59 77.59

23. Acta Chemica Scandinavica Series B 35 4850 0.56 78.15

24. Zhurnal Obschchei Khimii 34 4884 0.54 78.69

24. Collection of Czechoslovak chemical Communications 34 4918 0.54 79.23

25. Chemistry and Industry 32 4950 0.52 79.75

26. Journal of Biological Chemistry 30 4980 0.48 80.23

27. Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR Ser: Khimicheskaya 28 5008 0.45 80.68

27. Acta Chimica Hungarica 28 5036 0.45 81.13

28. Heterocycles 27 5063 0.43 81.56

28. Gazetta Chemica Italiana 27 5090 0.43 81.99

28. Zhurnal Organicheskoi Khimii 27 5117 0.43 82.42

29. Carbohydrate Research 26 5143 0.42 82.84

30. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 25 5168 0.40 83.2431- Synthetic Communications 24 5192 0.38 83.62

32. Journal fuer Praktische Chemie 22 5214 0.35 83.97

32. Journal of General Chemistry of USSR 22 5236 0.35 84.32

33. Biochemistry 21 5257 0.33 84.65

33. Journal of Chemical Research (S) 21 5278 0.33 84.98

34. Zeitschrift fuer Physiologische Chemie 20 5298 0.32 85.30

35. Indian Journal of Chemistry Sec. B 19 5317 0.30 85.60

36. International Journal of Peptide and Protein Research 18 5335 0.29 85.89

37. Accounts of Chemical Research 17 5352 0.27 86.16

38. Archive der Pharmazie 15 5367 0.24 86.40

39. Nature 14 5384 0.22 86.62

40. Pure and Applied Chemistry 13 5394 0.20 86.82

40. Dokladui Akadernii Nauk SSSR 13 5407 0.20 87.0240. Kontakke 13 5420 0.20 87.2241- Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii 11 5431 0.17 87.3941- Bulletin des Societies Chimique Belges 11 5442 0.17 87.56

42. Yakugaku Zasshi 10 5452 0.16 87.72

43. Journal of Indian Chemical Society 9 5461 0.14 87.86

Vol 32 Nos 3-4 September-December 1985 117

RAJU & KAVITHA

Rank Name of the Journal Number of Cumulative % CumulativeNo. Citation Number of %

Citations

44. Zeitschrift fur Chernie 8 5469 0.12 87.98

44. Chemiker - Zeitung 8 5477 0.12 88.10

44. Organic Preparations and Procedures - International 8 5485 0.12 88.22

44. Israel Journal of Chemistry 8 5493 0.12 88.34

44. Annals of New York Academy of Sciences 8 5501 0.12 88.46

45. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 7 5508 0.11 88.57

45. Chemical Society Reviews 7 5515 0.11 88.68

46. Polish Journal of Chemistry 6 5521 0.09 88.77

46. Die Pharrnazie 6 5527 0.09 88.86

47. Yuki Goseikagaku Kyokaishi 4 5531 0.06 88.92

47. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 4 5535 0.06 88.98

47. Russian Chemical Reviews 4 5539 0.06 89.04

47. Nouveau J ournal de Chemie 4 5543 0.06 89.10

Other 254 Journals 660 6203 10.64 99.74----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Table 3 : List of journals abstracted in Journal of Synthetic Methods 1981

Rank Name of the Journal Abstracted Cumulative % CumulativeNo. in Journal of number of %

Synthetic AbstractsMethods

1- Tetrahedron Letters 411 411 13.26 13.26

2. Journal of Organic Chemistry 324 735 10.45 23.71

3. Synthesis 201 936 6.48 30.19

4. Journal of Chemical Society : ChemicalCommunications 180 1116 5.80 35.99

5. Journal of American Chemical Society 140 1256 4.51 40.50

6. Chemistry Letters 113 1369 3.64 44.14

6.5 Heterocycles 113 1482 3.64 47.78

7. Tetrahedron 87 1569 2.80 50.58

8. J oumal of Heterocyclic Chemistry 81 1650 2.61 53.19

9. Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin 79 1729 2.54 55.73

10. Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan 76 1805 2.45 58.18

11. Zhurnal Organicheskoi Khimi 75 1880 2.42 60.60

12. Synthetic Communications 74 1954 2.38 62.98

13. Chemische Berechte 67 2021 2.16 65.14

14. Liebigs Annalen der Chemie 66 2087 2.12 67.26

14.5 Angewandte Chemie 66 2153 2.12 69.38

15. Journal of Chemical Society: PerkinsTrans I 61 2214 1.96 71.34

118 Ann Lib Sci Doc

CORE JOURNALS IN CHEMISTRY

Rank Name of the Journal Abstracted Cumulative % CumulativeNo. in Journal of number of %

Synthetic AbstractsMethods

16. Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR Ser Khimii 53 2267 1.71 73.05

16.5 Khimiya Geterotskilicheskikh Soedinenii 53 2320 1.71 74.76

17. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 49 2369 1.58 76.34

18. Zhumal Obschei Khimii 47 2416 1.51 77.85

19. Indian Journal of Chemistry "B" 46 2462 1.48 79.33

20. Journal of Organometallic Chemistry 37 2499 1.19 80:52

21. Canadian Journal of Chemistry 34 2533 1.09 81.61

22. Helvetica Chemica Acta 29 2591 0.93 83.47

23. Armyanskii Khimicheskii Zhumal 26 2617 0.83 84.30

24. Collection of Czechoslovak ChemicalCommunications 21 2638 0.67 84.97

24.5 Bulletin des Societes Chimiques Belges 21 2659 0.67 85.64

25. Archiv der Pharmazie 18 2677 0.58 86.22

26. Zeitschrift fuer Chemic 18 2695 0.58 86.80

27. Organic Preparations and ProceduresInternational 17 2712 0.54 87.34

28. Australian Journal of Chemistry 16 2728 0.51 87.85

28.5 Carbohydrate Research 16 2744 0.51 88.36

29. Recueil des Travaux Chirniques des Phys-Bas(journal of the Royal Netherlands ChemicalSociety) 15 2759 0.48 88.84

29.5 Journal of Chemical Research (S) 15 2774 0.48 89.32

30. Journal ofIndian Chemical Society 14 2788 0.45 89.7731. Monatshefle fuer Chemie 13 2801 0.41 90.18

32. Zeitschrift fuer Naturferschung See B 12 2813 0.38 90.56

32. Chemistry and Industry 12 2825 0.38 90.94

32. Polish Journal of Chemistry 12 2837 0.38 91.32

33. Bulletin of the Chemical Society of France II 10 2847 0.32 91.64

33. Acta Chimica Hungarica 10 2857 0.32 91.96

34. Acta Chemica Scandinavica Ser. B 9 2866 0.29 92.2535. Journal fuer Praktische Chernie 8 2874 0.25 92.50

36. Chemical Society Reviews 7 2881 0.22 92.7236. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 7 2888 0.22 92.9436. Russian Chemical Reviews 7 2895 0.22 93.1637. Die Pharmazie 6 2901 0.19 93.3537. Chemical Reviews 6 2907 0.19 93.5437. Nouveau Journal de Chimie 6 2913 0.19 93.7338. Cornptes Rendus Series 'C' 5 2918 0.16 93.89

Vol 32 Nos 3-4 September-December 1985 119

RAJU & KAVITHA

1 2 3 4 5 6

38. Gazzetta Chemica Italiana 5 2923

38. Accounts of Chemical Research 5 2928

38. Pure and Applied Chemistry 5 2933

39. Israel J ournal of Chemistry 3 2936

39. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 3 2939

40. Annals of New York Academy of Science 2 2941

Other 100 Journals 158 3099

CITATION ANALYSIS

Table 2 reveals the familiar pattern ofdispersion of source items in primary periodicalssimilar to the pattern presented by Bradford.The survey reveals that 75% of the citations camefrom the first 19 periodicals and the remainingpercentage of the references spill over the next282 titles.

Table 3 also reveals the same pattern, where80% of the literature came from the first 20periodicals and the remaining percentage of thereferences spill over the next 120 titles.

CONCLUSION

The above study discloses the familiarpattern of concentration and dispersion ofliterature in the field of synthetic organicchemistry. These ranked lists maybe used as atool in evaluating the primary journals in thesubject.

The above study has helped us to someextent in the selective acquisition of periodicalsin our centre. However, it has some limitations.High frequency of citations does not invariablyindicate correspondingly a high intrinsic qualityof journals. Frequency of citation is influencedby the reputation of author(s), reprint dissemi-nation, coverage in secondary services, languageand national bias.

However, the result of this analysis notonly helps special library management but alsospecialist readers in selecting the periodicalsmore relevant to their field to keep themselvesabreast with new developments in their speciali-sat ion. It is also useful in developing a corecollection as well as compiling reading lists.

I~O

0.16 94.05

0.16 94.21

0.16 94.37

0.09 94.46

0.09 94.55

0.0.6 94.61

5.09 99.70

ACKNOWLEDGEMEt-.T'fS

We are very grateful to Dr. D.R. Shridhar,General Manager (R&D) for his kind permissionto publish this work. We are also thankful toDr. C. Srikrishna, for his valuable suggestions.

LITERATURE CITED

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2. News and Views of 10 C.!. Chemical AbstractServices, p.3, Jan 1982.

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5. Subramanyam K: Core journals in computer scienc-es. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communi-cations 1977, PC19, 22-25.

6. Singh R S: Ranking of periodicals in chemistryfrom the point of view of Indian scientists. Annalsof Library Science and Documentation 1977,24,155-67.

7. Sengupta I N: Choosing pharmacology periodicals:Study of the growth of the literature in the field.Annals of Library Science and Documentation1974,21,1-21.

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CORE JOURNALS IN CHEMISTRY

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9. Windsor, Donald A: Rational selection of primaryjournals for a biomedical research library: The useof secondary journal citations. Special Libraries1973,67,446451.

Vol 32 Nos 34 September-December 1985

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11. Poyer, Robert K: Chemical Abstracts coverage ofpre-clinical sciences journal literature. Journal ofChemical Information and Computer Sciences1982, 22, 5-8.

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