The underlying data for the infographics was extracted from Scopus using search queries which were developed by Elsevier and RELX and based on the Sustainable Development Goals and associated targets. This was an iterative process which refined the queries over time. A full list of the current search queries can be viewed on Mendeley.
Further development of these queries is ongoing, using a feedback tool available here.
Publication sets extracted from Scopus were imported into SCIVAL which calculated many of the metrics represented in the SDG Infographics. These SDG research areas are now preloaded into SCIVAL and can be analysed by all SCIVAL users.
Research output (number of publications)
This shows the total number of publications returned by the SDG search query. In country breakdowns of the number of publications, a publication may be counted more than once if authors from more than one country contributed to the publication.
Relative Activity Index
Relative Activity Index is a measure of the proportion of the country’s research output in the subject, relative to the proportion seen globally. Countries with fewer than 100 publications for the SDG were excluded from the RAI calculation.
Several large countries (such as the US, China, UK, India, etc.) consistently appear in the list of most prolific countries for research in each SDG. This is due to their comparatively large overall output. RAI shows which countries, even those with comparatively low output, are conducting a larger share of their research into specific SDGs.
This can be viewed as a proxy metric for how important the research field is to that country’s research output.
RAI was not calculated for SDG 17 due to the low number of publications returned by the search query.
International Collaboration
International collaboration metrics below the global level are not show for SDG 17 due to the low number of publications returned by the search query.
Corporate Academic Collaboration
Corporate Academic Collaboration below the global level is not show for SDG 17 due to the low number of publications returned by the search query.
Economic groupings of countries
Country economic classifications were taken from the World Bank Country and Lending Groups document for the 2021 fiscal year. These classifications were applied to all years shown in the graphics.