How research funding shapes academic outputs: Evidence from communication research paper characteristics and thematic trends in China

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Summary of key findings on research funding patterns and impacts_

Main Findings	Details
Shifts in Funding Patterns and International Collaboration	Initially reliant on international or HKMT funding, later dominated by national funding. International or HKMT funded papers have higher international impact.
Uneven Distribution of Funding Resources	Funded papers follow a power-law distribution, with most receiving minimal support and few benefiting from multiple sources.
Multi-Funding as an Impact Driver	Multi-funded papers outperform single-funded papers across all impact metrics. Diverse funding collaborations enhance visibility and academic strength.
Thematic Divergence and Innovation	Funded research focuses on innovation and emerging technologies; non-funded papers apply classical theories.
Methodological Sophistication and Disciplinary Advancement	Funded papers employ advanced analytical methods, reflecting a shift toward data-driven scholarship; non-funded papers have less methodological innovation.

Statistics on research funding categories for communication papers in China_

Year	National Funds	HKMT Funds	International Funds	Provincial and Municipal Funds	University Funds	Institutional Funds	Other Funds
2008	0	3	2	0	0	0	0
2009	2	0	3	1	0	0	0
2010	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
2011	3	0	9	1	1	0	0
2012	12	3	4	2	0	0	0
2013	1	2	0	0	0	0	0
2014	11	4	4	0	0	0	1
2015	40	18	12	7	8	0	1
2016	66	22	26	18	17	6	8
2017	53	57	34	18	12	4	4
2018	91	44	32	28	16	0	5
2019	91	32	20	40	20	2	7
2020	121	42	34	33	22	1	7
Total	491	228	180	148	96	13	33

Analysis of research funding on paper impact_

Research Funding Categories	Paper Number	Average Citation Frequency	Zero Citation Rate (%)	High Citation Rate (%)	Average Journal Impact Factor
National Funds	292	9.3	6.8	23	2.7
HKMT Funds	180	10.1	5.6	27.2	3.2
International Funds	107	11.2	6.5	30.8	3.4
Provincial and Municipal Funds	105	7.2	10.5	16.2	2.4
University Funds	86	6.9	10.5	18.6	2.4
Institutional Funds	9	9	0	22.2	3.4
Other Funds	31	8.5	9.7	12.9	2.0
Non-funded	1,162	14.8	5.5	28.3	2.9

Comparative thematic analysis of funded vs_ non-funded research_

Dimension	Funded Papers	Non-funded Papers
Core Themes	Digital transformation, crisis management, big data analysis	Classical theories, agenda-setting, uses and gratifications
Methodological Innovation	High (machine learning, network analysis, advanced text mining)	Moderate to Low (traditional qualitative and quantitative)
Interdisciplinary Integration	Extensive interdisciplinary collaborations	Limited interdisciplinary integration
Theoretical Orientation	Innovative and exploratory	Confirmatory and theory-driven
Key Thematic Examples	Digital divide, discourse analysis, social media platforms	Political communication, third-person effect, media discourse

Density matrix of keyword clustering modules in funded papers_

	M1	M2	M3	M4	M5	M6	M7	M8	M9	M0	M1	M12	M13	M14	M15	M16
M1	0.8	0.08	0.1	0	1.025	0.267	0.585	0.2	0.133	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
M2	0.08	0.1	0.1	0	0.325	0.067	0	0.067	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.05	0
M3	0.1	0.1	0	0	0.313	0	0.192	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.25	0	0
M4	0	0	0	0.125	0	0	0.077	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
M5	1.025	0.325	0.313	0.125	1.714	0.25	0.096	0.042	0.125	0	0	0	0	0.125	0.031	0
M6	0.267	0.067	0	0	0.25	0.333	0.026	0	0.222	0.222	0	0	0	0	0.083	0
M7	0.585	0	0.192	0.077	0.096	0.026	0.051	0.077	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.038	0
M8	0.2	0.067	0	0	0.042	0	0.077	0.667	0	0	0	0.333	0	0	0.083	0
M9	0.133	0	0	0	0.125	0.222	0	0	2.333	0.444	0	0.167	0	0	0	0
M10	0	0	0	0	0	0.222	0	0	0.444	0.667	0.333	0.167	0.333	0	0	0
M11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.333	0	0	0	0	0	0
M12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.333	0.167	0.167	0	1	0	0	0	0
M13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.333	0	0	1	0.5	0	0
M14	0	0	0.25	0	0.125	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.5	0	0.125	0
M15	0	0.05	0	0	0.031	0.083	0.038	0.083	0	0	0	0	0	0.125	0	0
M16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Density matrix of keyword clustering modules in non-funded papers_

	M1	M2	M3	M4	M5	M6	M7	M8	M9	M10	M11	M12	M13	M14	M15	M16
M1	3	1.417	0.9	0.25	2.417	1.083	0.75	0.5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
M2	1.417	1.2	0.167	0	0.201	0.222	0	0.083	0	0.167	0	0	0.167	0	0.167	0
M3	0.9	0.167	0.3	0.3	0.167	0.033	0	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.1
M4	0.25	0	0.3	0	0.125	0	0	0.25	0	0	0.25	0	0	0	0	0
M5	2.417	0.201	0.167	0.125	0.185	0.146	0.063	0.146	0.021	0.042	0.083	0.083	0	0.042	0.042	0.063
M6	1.083	0.222	0.033	0	0.146	0.733	0	0.083	0	0	0	0.167	0.333	0.083	0.556	0.167
M7	0.75	0	0	0	0.063	0	2	0	2.75	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
M8	0.5	0.083	0.1	0.25	0.146	0.083	0	0	0.25	0	1	0	0.25	0	0	0
M9	0	0	0	0	0.021	0	2.75	0.25	0	0	0.75	0.5	0	0	0	0
M10	0	0.167	0	0	0.042	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.5	0	0	0	0
M11	0	0	0	0.25	0.083	0	0	1	0.75	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
M12	0	0	0	0	0.083	0.167	0	0	0.5	0.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
M13	0	0.167	0	0	0	0.333	0	0.25	0	0	0	0	0	1.25	0.833	0
M14	0	0	0	0	0.042	0.083	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.25	1	0.167	0
M15	0	0.167	0	0	0.042	0.556	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.833	0.167	1.333	0.167
M16	0	0	0.1	0	0.063	0.167	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.167	0

Research funding classification_

Research Funding Category	Description
National Funds	National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Social Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Education Funds, Ministry of Science and Technology Funds, Central University Funds for Basic Research, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, etc.
HKMT Funds	Funds established by institutions and universities in Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan region of China.
International Funds	Funds established by international universities, institutions, or enterprises, including the Simons Foundation, the Funda Foundation, and the South Pacific Research Foundation, etc.
Provincial and Municipal Funds	Natural Science Funds of provinces and municipalities, Social Science Funds of provinces and municipalities, Shanghai Pujiang Program, Provincial Key Disciplines Program, Beijing Changping Scholar Program, etc.
University Funds	Funds established by mainland-based Chinese universities.
Institutional Funds	Funds established by research institutes for basic research, such as the National DiabetesResearch Institute and National Nephrology Research Institute, National Institute for Nutrition and Food Safety, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences) Foundation Projects, etc.
Other Funds	Funds from the National Scholarship Council, Open Technology Funds, National Language Committee Funds, Thirteenth Five-Year Plan, Sino-American Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases Cooperation Program, Joint Funds, Chinese Legal Research Foundation, Tang Prize for Young Scholars, Corporate Funds, etc.