# Asian Surgical Association

> organisation involved in scholarly research

**Wikidata**: [Q74552892](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q74552892)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/asian-surgical-association

## Summary
The Asian Surgical Association is a Hong Kong-based research institute dedicated to scholarly research in surgery. It operates as a professional organization serving surgeons across Asia and maintains a formal relationship with the Asian Journal of Surgery. The association is recognized in major international directories and library authority systems under both its primary name and the alternative designation "Association of Surgeons of Southeast Asia."

## Key Facts
- The Asian Surgical Association is classified as a research institute based in Hong Kong.
- It holds National Library of Korea authority ID nlk20050161837 under the name "Asian Surgical Association".
- The organization also operates as "Association of Surgeons of Southeast Asia" with separate authority ID nlk20050161838.
- It maintains a documented relationship with the Asian Journal of Surgery through Wikidata property P2210.
- The association is registered in the UIA Open Yearbook with organization website ID 1100050716.
- Its Wikidata description identifies it as an organisation involved in scholarly research.
- The "research institute" classification has coverage across 41 Wikipedia language editions.

## FAQs
**Q: What is the Asian Surgical Association?**
A: The Asian Surgical Association is a Hong Kong-based research institute focused on scholarly research in surgery. It functions as a professional organization for surgeons throughout Asia, providing a platform for research collaboration and knowledge dissemination.

**Q: What is the association's connection to academic publishing?**
A: The Asian Surgical Association has a formal relationship with the Asian Journal of Surgery, documented through Wikidata linking. This connection establishes the association's role in the scholarly communication pipeline for surgical research.

**Q: Does the organization use other names?**
A: Yes, the association is also known as the Association of Surgeons of Southeast Asia. This alternative name holds a separate National Library of Korea authority identifier, reflecting its broad regional scope.

**Q: Where can researchers find authoritative information about this organization?**
A: The association is catalogued in multiple authoritative systems including the National Library of Korea with two distinct IDs, and the UIA Open Yearbook with organization website ID 1100050716. These registries provide verified contact and identification details.

## Why It Matters
The Asian Surgical Association occupies a critical position in the Asian medical research landscape by providing a dedicated institutional home for surgical scholarship. As a Hong Kong-based research institute, it bridges Eastern and Western medical research communities while addressing surgical challenges specific to Asian populations. Its dual identity—operating as both Asian Surgical Association and Association of Surgeons of Southeast Asia—demonstrates a sophisticated approach to regional representation, acknowledging both broad continental identity and specific subregional surgical communities. The organization's registration in authoritative international directories like the UIA Open Yearbook and the National Library of Korea ensures its recognition in global academic and bibliographic systems, enabling proper attribution of research outputs and facilitating international collaboration. The documented relationship with the Asian Journal of Surgery creates a complete ecosystem where research can be produced, validated, and disseminated within a unified framework. This integration is vital for building a coherent body of surgical knowledge tailored to Asian healthcare contexts, including unique disease patterns, resource constraints, and cultural considerations in medical practice. By maintaining distinct authority identifiers and structured data relationships, the association contributes to the integrity of academic metadata, ensuring that surgical research from Asia is accurately tracked, cited, and integrated into the global scientific record. In an era where precision in research attribution affects funding, collaboration opportunities, and evidence-based practice, the Asian Surgical Association's presence in formal information systems represents essential infrastructure for advancing surgical science in the region.

## Notable For
- Holding two separate National Library of Korea authority IDs under two distinct organizational names, indicating complex institutional identity
- Being classified as a research institute rather than a scientific society, emphasizing its focus on active investigation over membership activities
- Maintaining a machine-readable relationship with the Asian Journal of Surgery in Wikidata, enabling automated discovery of its scholarly outputs
- Registration in the UIA Open Yearbook with a unique numeric identifier, ensuring inclusion in global organization directories
- Geographic positioning in Hong Kong as a hub for pan-Asian surgical research coordination
- Recognition across 41 Wikipedia language editions through its classification as a research institute

## Body
### Organizational Classification and Geographic Base
The Asian Surgical Association is formally classified as a research institute with its operational base in Hong Kong. This classification distinguishes it from universities that combine teaching and research, or from scientific societies that primarily serve as membership organizations. As a research institute, its sole purpose centers on generating new knowledge through systematic surgical investigation. The Hong Kong location positions the association within a major Asian metropolitan center known for advanced medical infrastructure and international connectivity. This strategic placement enables the organization to coordinate research activities across diverse Asian healthcare systems while maintaining access to global research networks.

### Authority Control and Bibliographic Identity
The association maintains a sophisticated presence in international library and information systems through multiple authority control identifiers. In the National Library of Korea system, it holds identifier nlk20050161837 under the name "Asian Surgical Association". A second identifier, nlk20050161838, exists for "Association of Surgeons of Southeast Asia", documenting the organization's alternative official designation. These dual identifiers, referenced with a timestamp of May 23, 2023, ensure precise cataloguing of publications and research outputs associated with each organizational identity. The presence in a major national library authority file guarantees standardized name control across Korean academic institutions and facilitates accurate bibliographic linking.

### International Directory Registration
Beyond library systems, the Asian Surgical Association is registered in the Union of International Associations (UIA) Open Yearbook, receiving organization website ID 1100050716. This registration places the association within a comprehensive global directory of international nongovernmental organizations. The UIA listing provides a standardized reference point for the association's digital presence, administrative contact information, and institutional details. Such inclusion supports discovery by researchers, funding agencies, and potential collaborators seeking partners in Asian surgical research.

### Scholarly Publishing Integration
A defining institutional relationship exists between the Asian Surgical Association and the Asian Journal of Surgery. Wikidata records document this connection through property P2210, with supporting references to Elsevier's official guide for authors. This linkage indicates the association's role in either owning, sponsoring, or editorially overseeing the journal. The relationship creates a direct channel for disseminating surgical research to the international medical community, ensuring that findings from Asian surgical investigations reach appropriate audiences. The connection to an Elsevier-published journal further establishes the association's integration into mainstream academic publishing infrastructure.

### Conceptual Framework as Research Institute
The Asian Surgical Association belongs to the organizational class "research institute", a category formally defined as an organization whose primary purpose is research. This classification appears in 41 Wikipedia language editions, demonstrating universal recognition of the concept. In knowledge organization systems, research institutes receive specific identifiers: the Library of Congress uses authority ID sh85113043, while the German National Library assigns GND ID 4017909-6. Geographic databases recognize them through Geonames feature code S.ITTR. The classification is mapped to schema.org/ResearchOrganization for structured data purposes. This framework distinguishes research institutes from think tanks (which focus on policy research), scientific societies (which are membership-based), and research centers (which may be sub-units within larger organizations).

### Semantic Web and Machine-Readable Data
The association's inclusion in Wikidata with properties like country (Hong Kong), instance_of (research institute), and formal relationships with publications enables machine-readable discovery. Its Wikidata description as "organisation involved in scholarly research" provides a concise computational definition. The mapping to schema.org/ResearchOrganization facilitates search engine optimization and integration with academic discovery platforms. This digital infrastructure ensures the association's activities and outputs are discoverable through automated systems, supporting modern research information management.

### Regional Scope and Nomenclature
The organization's dual naming reflects a strategic approach to regional identity. "Asian Surgical Association" suggests a broad continental mandate, while "Association of Surgeons of Southeast Asia" indicates specific focus on the Southeast Asian subregion. This dual identity may correspond to different programmatic initiatives or historical evolution of the organization. The separate authority IDs for each name allow precise attribution of activities and publications to the appropriate organizational identity, supporting accurate historical and bibliographic research.

## References

1. [Directory of Open Access Journals](https://www.elsevier.com/journals/asian-journal-of-surgery/1015-9584/guide-for-authors)
2. Czech National Authority Database