Bibliometric analysis of research activity in the “Agronomy” category from the Web of Science, 1997–2011

Abstract This bibliometric analysis aims to check the status and evolution of research activity from 1997 to 2011 within the fields of study of the category “Agronomy” of the Web of Science database. With a focus on articles and reviews, almost 88,000 publications were found (92.4% in English), of which 88% were carried out by research centers of the thirty countries with the highest production. For each article, quantitative and qualitative parameters (number of publications, international collaborations, authors, research centers, year impact factor, and number of citations per article) were analyzed, establishing rankings of countries and research centers. The study is complemented by an analysis of the evolution of the principal research topics through the study of keywords and with an analysis of the journals in the category. An increase in collaboration on all scales (authors, centers, and countries) indicates a greater globalization and structuration of the research carried out, with more complex and articulated research networks. The USA is the most important country in publication productivity with 22.5% of the total publications and thirty-five of the 100 most productive research centers. The spectacular growth in research carried out in emerging countries, such as Brazil, the People’s Republic of China, or India, challenges this leadership. In Europe, the levels of production have experienced a moderate increase, with high levels in indicators of impact and collaboration standing out.