A comparative study of the difference in research performance in biomedical fields among selected Western and Asian countries

In this study, a series of relative indicators are used to compare the difference in research performance in biomedical fields between ten selected Western and Asian countries. Based on Thomson's Essential Science Indicators (ESI) 1996-2006, the output of papers and their citations in ten biomedical fields are compared at multiple levels using relative indicators. Chart diagrams and hierarchical clustering are applied to represent the data. The results confirm that there are many differences in intra- and interdisciplinary scientific activities between the West and the East. In most biomedical fields Asian countries perform below world average.