Chinese scholars in China and overseas: Comparative analysis on research productivity and impact

The present article addresses the differences in research productivity and impact between Chinese scholars in China and overseas. A total of 1190 Chinese scholars in China and 1983 Chinese scholars overseas were recognized out of 6306 papers in six journals over 10 years. Research performance was evaluated by informetric indicators, including the absolute value, proportion, and average number of authors, publications, citations, and usage counts. Statistics metrics, including standard deviation and coefficient of variance, were used to test the viability of two groups. These metrics conclude that: (1) in general, Chinese scholars in China have fewer advantages than Chinese scholars overseas on all indicators; (2) Chinese scholars in China have more research potentiality than other scholars due to the faster speed of metrics' growth; and (3) Chinese scientific research in China is more developed and better at science than social science. Additionally, Chinese scholars in China have a slightly stronger impact in most research areas than Chinese scholars overseas.