http://mirrorofresearchinveterinarysciencesandanimals.com/issue 2(1), 1-60, 2013 ISSN 2307-8073 1 Mirror of Research in Veterinary Sciences and Animals (MRVSA) Review Article Research performance evaluation and citation in the Arabic countries Karima Al-Salihi Editor -in -chief MRVSA mrvsa59@gmail.com Abstract There are a vast number of journals in different disciplines issued in the Arabic language, however the majority of these journals are not currently indexed internationally or provide abstracts. This short communication presents information about the ranking of the Arabic countries in regard to published documents, citations and H-index to the period from 1996- 2011 according SJR SCIMAGO LAB powered by Scopus, in addition to presenting the numbers of veterinary sciences documents that were published from 1996-2011 in each country, and the name of journals that included in the Scopus index, and originated from different Arabic countries. Key words: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, research performance, H-Index ___________________________________________________________________________ To cite this article: Karima Al-Salihi, 2013. Research performance evaluation and citation in the Arabic countries. Mirror of Research in Veterinary Sciences and Animals. MRVSA 2(1), 1-7. ________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction Research is defined as the establishment of new knowledge and/or the use of current and existing knowledge in a new and innovative way in order to generate new concepts, methodologies and understandings. This could include synthesis and analysis of previous research to the extent that it leads to new and innovative outcomes. Recently the numbers of governmental and private universities have heavily increased in different Arabic countries, which have led to a significant increase in scientific research activities. It is important to evaluate the academic performances and research activities in these universities. The predominant reason for evaluating academic research is the quality assurance of the research, as well as to improve research and research policy, by giving feedback to the academic community. This is because research is a central function and the university must evaluate its performance. Research activity in universities and research institutes is evaluated both internally and externally. This short communication is designed to