New Insights into Structural Data – The 2024 Annual CSD Statistics
For over 20 years we have compiled an annual ‘snapshot’ of the contents of the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD), providing a fascinating insight into the trends and changes in crystallographic data shared with the community via the database.
In a previous blog we discussed some of the conclusions that can be drawn from looking at how these annual snapshots change over time (The Changing Face of Chemistry 2022-23). This year we are introducing a new set of statistics to the collection – looking at the most prolific authors of CSD Communications.
For anyone unfamiliar with CSD Communications, these are a way to share small molecule crystal structures directly in the CSD without an associated scientific publication. The aim is to ensure that crystallographic data is made available to the public, whether it be novel structures, new determinations, or re-refinements of previously published compounds. CSD Communications have a journal ISSN, which allows the depositor to receive a citable DOI and add the data to their ORCID record.
We have been motivated to provide this new information on CSD Communication contributors due to the user interest and insights gained from the regular CSD Author Statistics which list all authors with over 500 CSD entries. The accelerating growth of this list shows the continued importance of crystallographic data in modern research. It also gives us the opportunity to acknowledge the dedication and hard work of the crystallographic community!
When the CSD surpassed 1 million structures in 2019 we looked at the top 10 contributors to the CSD in our ‘CSD Heroes’ series. The current biggest individual contributor from the 2024 statistics is Arnold L. Rheingold (CSD Heroes: Arnold L. Rheingold) with a staggering 7,651 CSD entries. It may therefore come as no surprise to discover that Professor Rheingold also leads the CSD Communications table, with 2,355 entries as of 1st Jan 2024. What may be more unexpected is that there are 117 authors with over 100 CSD Communications – a significant part of the over 55,000 CSD Communications available in the CSD.
We hope you find these statistics interesting and useful! Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any ideas for future statistics and insights that you would like to see.
Next Steps
Explore the full statistics:
- CSD Space Group Statistics – Space Group Number Ordering
- CSD Space Group Statistics – Space Group Frequency Ordering
- CSD R-factor Statistics
- CSD Publication Year Statistics
- CSD Journal Statistics
- CSD Entries: Summary Statistics
- CSD Crystal System Statistics
- CSD Author Statistics
- CSD Communications Author Statistics
- Explore the weekly CSD statistics
- Discover how to generate your own data insights using the CSD Python API
To discuss further and/or request a demo of how the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) can accelerate and guide your research with one of our scientists, please contact us via this form or using this email address.