The quality of Taiwan's research papers has been improving in recent years, with the number of theses cited in journal articles on engineering ranked ninth in the world, the Science and Technology Policy Research and Information Center (STPI) said Wednesday. The number of Taiwanese theses published in journals on engineering and materials science ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, while the number of information science-related papers published ranked 11th, according to the STPI, a non-profit organization under the National Applied Research Laboratories in Taiwan. 'Taiwan has continued to improve in terms of academic development. The number of theses published in journals increased from 537 in 1981 to more than 24,000 in 2009, with an average annual increase of over 12 percent,' said Chu Hsiao-ping, deputy director of the STPI. In 2009, the number of Taiwanese theses published ranked 16th, while the number of theses cited ranked 19th, the STPI said, adding that the U.S. ranked first in both categories. The STPI also found that over 50 percent of science-related theses from Taiwan were published by top influential international journals. The database the STPI used in the analysis was provided by Thomson Reuters, which signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the STPI in 2009 on collaborative efforts to support Taiwan's science and technology development. 