Bibliometrics and the research enterprise Berenika M. Webster, PhD University Library System 14 March 2017

“the application of mathematics and statistical methods to books and other media of communication” in order to“shed light on the processes of written communication and of the nature and course of development of a discipline” (Pritchard, 1969) Scopus, 2017 http://www.scholar-mirrors.infoec3.es/

Bibliometrics can shed light on Who or what? Cognitive: disciplines networks Organisational: individuals groups departments institutions regions countries Social: co-authorship Why? science policy assessment of impact collections development information retrieval

Matthew effect For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath (Matthew xiii.7) “Success breeds success” characterises many bibliometric phenomena an article in a journal that has been cited many times already is much more likely to be cited again than a rarely cited article; a more distinguished author will receive disproportionally more recognition for their contributions (e.g. citations) than authors who are less known; an author of many papers is much more likely to publish again than one who is less prolific.

What can citation counts tell us about research outputs how visible that research is how relevant that research is something about the reputation of its author(s) how impactful that research is Not about its quality

cognitive and social structures

Wyndham Hulme’s statistical bibliography The development of modern civilisations can be measured by the volume of their published outputs and levels of diversifications within scholarly disciplines. (Hulme, 1923).

Derek de Solla Price and a scientific approach to describing science […] science can itself be studied “scientifically” -- that is, by careful measurement, description, and classification of regularities in the occurrence of certain real-world events, such as the engagement of a person in a scientific task, their appointment to a scientific job, their publication of a scientific paper, their collaboration with another. (de Solla Price)

Eugene Garfield and “Association of Ideas Index” All these activities were significantly boosted in the late 1960s by the development of the first citation indices. These multidisciplinary, international in coverage indexing services developed by Eugene Garfield and his Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) in Philadelphia, in addition to basic bibliographic details of published papers, provide full lists of references in these papers and links to papers which cite them. These “association-of-ideas indexes” allowed for retrieval based on citation links rather than traditional subject retrieval relying on indices, thesauri or key words. Moreover, subscribing to Merton’s theory of the normative structure of science, given and received citations can be regarded as markers of influence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abNZ66ZLbjU

All disciplines are not equal Butler, 2006

Why do researchers publish Kyvik, 2005

Bibliometric distributions are skewed: Samuel C Bradford’s law of scattering In 1934 Samuel C Bradford described a pattern that shows the exponentially diminishing returns of extending a search for references in science journals. Bradford’s distribution is very similar to the Pareto distribution and shows that 80% of all publications (and citations) in a subject area can be found in 20% of journals. (Bradford, 1934) Bradford’s law of scattering, as it became known, proved pivotal in the thinking of Eugene Garfield when he proposed the creation of the first citation index nearly 30 years later. Bradford, 1934

Bibliometric distributions are skewed In 2010 [papers], nearly half of the citation impact is accounted for by the 10% most-frequently cited papers. Bornmann, 2016

Bibliometric distributions are skewed 80% of citations found in 15% of papers Webster, 2017

All disciplines are not equal: 2011-2016 CPP rates Scopus, 2016

Scopus 2016

Aging of literatures (cited half-life) Journal Citation Reports, 2010

What impact: from an idea to better care and less illness Academic Social Environmental Economic After Lewison, 1999

From bench top to economic impact

Applied vs basic Mapping the Science, 2005

Maps of science

Evolution of chemistry research Interdisciplinarity (co-citations)

Journal Scientometrics co-citation network 2015/16 Scientometrics paper co-citation analysis VosViewer visualisation

Co-authorship networks Collaboration patterns (co-authorship) Success predictions (betweenness centrality)

organisational and workforce structures

James McKeen Cattell and American Men of Science The beginnings of bibliometric-type research are attributed to an American psychologist and an editor of Science, James McKeen Cattell, who in 1906 launched a publication called American Men of Science. Updated every 5 years it provided the first systematic analysis of the volume and quality of scientific research in the US. Cattell was the first one to collect both quantitative and qualitative information about research outputs. The quantitative data was simply numbers of publications; the qualitative part of analysis was based on peer rankings. (Godin, 2006)

Global, national, local perspectives Scopus/SciVal data, 2016 NSF Science and Engineering Indicators, 2016

Global, national, local perspectives Scopus/SciVal data, 2016 NSF Science and Engineering Indicators, 2016

Measures of impact US Share of papers in top 1%, by institution Scopus/SciVal data, 2016 US Share of papers in top 1%, by institution NSF Science and Engineering Indicators,2016

Research contribution to development of inventions Pitt publications cited on patents, 2011-16 Scopus/SciVal data, 2016 NSF Science and Engineering Indicators, 2016

Population characteristics: ethnic diversity Minorities were underrepresented in HE employment in relation to size of populations. Representation varied by disciplines Webster, 2003

Population characteristics: women The proportion of women among researchers and inventors is increasing over time. Women publish fewer research papers on average than men, but there is no evidence that this affects how their papers are cited or downloaded. Women are less likely than men to collaborate internationally on research papers. Webster, 2001 Women are slightly less likely than men to collaborate across the academic and corporate sectors on research papers. Women are in junior positions (teaching and admin) Publish in local journals Less intl collaboration Fewer publications than men underrepresented in basic physical sciences She Figures: Underrepresented as corresponding authors but on par in intl collab. In general, women’s scholarly output includes a slightly larger proportion of highly interdisciplinary research than men’s. Among researchers, women are generally less internationally mobile than men Gender research is growing in terms of size and complexity, with new topics emerging over time.

Workforce: how to find a rising star Bibliometric predictors of impact: Early publications (pre-PhD) lead to greater ongoing productivity Rapid citation rates (in comparison to baselines) correlate with subsequent impact Publications in top ranking journals correlate to subsequent impact Early indications of influence within a co-authorship networks correlate with subsequent impact

Come and learn about Leiden Manifesto and role of metrics in faculty evaluation Senate Plenary 29 March, 12 - 3 pm Assembly Room, WPU