Number of U.S.-Based Published Science Articles Hits a Plateau

The face of scientific publishing has changed dramatically in the past 15 years. While it was formerly common to see only two names on a research paper, now one is likely to see an article listing up to 12 authors.

The need for increased collaboration and the rising cost of doing research have contributed to the plateaued number of science and engineering journal articles from the U.S. since the 1990s. This is a marked contrast from the previous two decades, which saw a rise in publication numbers. This unexpected development led the National Science Foundation’s Division of Science Resource Statistics to produce a quantitative study of the patterns and trends of U.S. journal articles from the past 15 years.