Rousseau R. "Conglomerates as a general framework for informetric research" INFORMATION PROCESSING & MANAGEMENT 41 (6): 1360-1368 DEC 2005

[Eugene Garfield]

E-mail Addresses: ronald.rousseau at khbo.be

Title: Conglomerates as a general framework for informetric research

Author(s): Rousseau R

Source: INFORMATION PROCESSING & MANAGEMENT 41 (6): 1360-1368 DEC 2005

Document Type: Article    Language: English
Cited References: 33      Times Cited: 0

Abstract:
We introduce conglomerates as a general framework for informetric (and
other) research. A conglomerate consists of two collections: a finite
source collection and a pool, and two mappings: a source-item map and a
magnitude map. The ratio of the sum of all magnitudes of item-sets, and the
number of elements in the source collection is called the conglomerate
ratio. It is a kind of average, generalizing the notion of an impact
factor. The source-item relation of a conglomerate leads to a list of
sources ranked according to the magnitude of their corresponding item-sets.
This list, called a Zipf list, is the basic ingredient for all
considerations related to power laws and Lotkaian or Zipfian informetrics.
Examples where this framework applies are: impact factors, including web
impact factors, Bradford-Lotka type bibliographies, first-citation studies,
word use, diffusion factors, elections and even bestsellers lists. (c) 2005
Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Addresses: Rousseau R (reprint author), Assoc KU Leuven, KHBO, Zeedijk 101,
Oostende, B-8400 Belgium
Assoc KU Leuven, KHBO, Oostende, B-8400 Belgium
Univ Antwerp, IBW, Antwerp, B-2610 Belgium

E-mail Addresses: ronald.rousseau at khbo.be

IDS Number: 956XE
ISSN: 0306-4573

Cited References:
BRADFORD SC, 1934, ENGINEERING-LONDON, V137, P85.
BRAUN T, 1985, SCIENTOMETRIC INDICA.
BURRELL QL, 1991, SCIENTOMETRICS, V21, P181.
BURRELL QL, 2001, SCIENTOMETRICS, V52, P3.
EBBHE L, 2005, MATH COMPUT MODEL, V41, P301.
EGGHE L, 1990, INTRO INFORMETRICS.
EGGHE L, 1990, J INFORM SCI, V16, P17.
EGGHE L, 2000, SCIENTOMETRICS, V48, P345.
EGGHE L, 2001, MATH COMPUT MODEL, V34, P81.
EGGHE L, 2002, SCIENTOMETRICS, V53, P371.
EGGHE L, 2003, CANADIAN J INFORMATI, V27, P29.
EGGHE L, 2005, POWER LAWS INFORMATI.
FRANDSEN TF, 2004, ASLIB PROC, V56, P5.
FRANDSEN TF, 2005, DIFFUSION FACTORS.
FRANDSEN TF, 2005, J AM SOC INF SCI TEC, V56, P58.
GABAIX X, 1999, AM ECON REV, V89, P129.
GARFIELD E, 1963, AM DOC, V14, P195.
INGWERSEN P, 1998, J DOC, V54, P236.
INGWERSEN P, 2001, CHINESE SCI BULL, V46, P524.
IOANNIDES YM, 2003, REG SCI URBAN ECON, V33, P127.
JIN BH, 1999, SCIENTOMETRICS, V45, P325.
LOTKA AJ, 1926, J WASHINGTON ACADEMY, V16, P317.
ROUSSEAU R, 1992, INFORMATION PROCESSI, V28, P45.
ROUSSEAU R, 1993, CAN J INFORM LIB SCI, V18, P51.
ROUSSEAU R, 1994, SCIENTOMETRICS, V30, P213.
ROWLANDS I, 2002, ASLIB PROC, V54, P77.
SCHUBERT A, 1983, P 1 NAT C INT PART S, P80.
THELWALL M, 2000, J DOC, V56, P185.
WASSERMAN S, 1994, SOCIAL NETWORK ANAL.
WILSON CS, 1999, ANNU REV INFORM SCI, V34, P107.
WU YS, 2004, SCIENTOMETRICS, V60, P385.
ZIPF GK, 1941, NATL UNITY DISUNITY.
ZIPF GK, 1949, HUMAN BEHAV PRINCIPL.