ABS: Heine, Bradford ranking conventions and their application to a growing literature

[Gretchen Whitney]

author photo: http://www.unn.ac.uk/~i930043/pho_mike.html

AU Heine, MH
TI Bradford ranking conventions and their application to a growing
   literature
SO JOURNAL OF DOCUMENTATION
LA English
DT Article
NR 38
SN 0022-0418
PU ASLIB
C1 Northumbria Univ, Dept Informat & Lib Management, Newcastle
   Upon Tyne NE1 8ST, Tyne & Wear, England.
   Northumbria Univ, Dept Informat & Lib Management, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8ST, Tyne & Wear, England.
ID INFORMETRIC DISTRIBUTIONS; LAW; AMBIGUITY; SCIENCE
AB Bradford distributions describe the relationship between
   'journal productivities' and 'journal rankings by
   productivity'. However, different ranking conventions exist,
   implying some ambiguity as to what the Bradford distribution
   'is'. A need accordingly arises for a standard ranking
   convention to assist comparisons between empirical data, and
   also comparisons between empirical data and theoretical models.
   Five ranking conventions are described including the one used
   originally by Bradford, along with suggested distinctions
   between 'Bradford data set', 'Bradford distribution', 'Bradford
   graph', 'Bradford log graph', 'Bradford model' and 'Bradford's
   Law'. Constructions such as the Lotka distribution, Groos droop
   (generalised to accommodate growth as well as fall-off in the
   Bradford log graph), Brookes hooks, and the slope and intercept
   of the Bradford log graph are clarified on this basis. Concepts
   or procedures questioned include: (1) 'core journal', from the
   Bradfordian viewpoint; (2) the use of traditional statistical
   inferential procedures applied to Bradford data; and (3) R(n)
   as a maximum (rather than median or mean) value at tied-rank
   values. The framework established is selectively illustrated in
   regard to a growing humanities literature, where particular
   attention was paid to generating a self-consistent and complete
   Bradford data set. No significant Groos effects were apparent,
   lending confirmation to the 'Law' as originally expressed by
   Bradford. Other empirical conclusions drawn are: (1) Brookes's
   parameter 's' is unsatisfactory as a measure of subject breadth
   and appears instead to reflect the size of the document corpus
   on a given subject, an alternative measure of subject breadth
   being suggested; (2) a terminal Brookes 'hook' for describing
   journals that (temporarily) produce zero articles provides a
   theoretically meaningful, although arbitrarily conditioned,
   extension to the Bradford graph; (3) the Lotka model of the
   related journal frequency distribution, which is unaffected by
   choice of rank convention, is more accurate than a logarithmic
   model of that distribution; and (4) the randomness underlying
   article production processes determines significant variations
   in journal rank, further questioning the validity of the
   concept of 'core journal' from a Bradfordian point of view.
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TC 1
BP 303
EP 331
PG 29
JI J. Doc.
PY 1998
PD JUN
VL 54
IS 3
GA ZN802
PI LONDON
RP Heine MH
   Northumbria Univ, Dept Informat & Lib Management, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8ST, Tyne & Wear, England.
J9 J DOC
PA STAPLE HALL, STONE HOUSE COURT, LONDON EC3A 7PB, ENGLAND
UT ISI:000073684100002
ER


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