Science/NSF report

[Stephen J Bensman]

For those without the technical expertise, I would suggest using OCLC
WorldCat for tracing bibliographic histories of JCR title segments.
This is the public OPAC available to library patrons, and all the
technicalities--Preceding, Superseding, Continuing, etc.--are translated
into notes easily understandable to the public.  As lagniappe--as we say
in Louisiana--you can also obtain the number of libraries holding the
various title segments.  A key clue to watch for is the volume numbering
of the segments.  If a journal changes titles but keeps the volume
numbering consecutive, it is considered the same journal.  If the
journals changes titles and reverts to vol. 1 for the title change, the
second segment is a superseding journal.  How to combine these
segments--which includes splits into parts or combination of
parts--depends upon the logic of your research.  We are not exactly
dealing with rocket science here.  The real trick is that once you have
defined the entities, how do you dig the data out of the JCRs for
combining or separating. 

For the hell of it, it would be interesting to see how the title changes
from Soviet to Russian, Ukrainian, etc., were handled from this
perspective.  Was the volume numbering kept consecutive out of nostalgia
for the past, or did the numbering revert to 1 as a sign of the new era.
I have had to deal with this problem with Germany splitting and then
recombining, and the way it was handled was very interesting from this
historical perspective.  With the new Kossovo and Europe possibly
fragmenting into minimal entities--Spanish to Basque and Catalonian, for
example--this could be a major problem in the future.  You also have the
problem of national journals merging into the Euromass like the journals
of the Royal Chemical Society merging with those of the Scandinavian
chemical societies.

Stephen J. Bensman
LSU Libraries
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA   70803
USA
notsjb at lsu.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: ASIS&T Special Interest Group on Metrics
[mailto:SIGMETRICS at listserv.utk.edu] On Behalf Of Pikas, Christina K.
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 11:20 AM
To: SIGMETRICS at listserv.utk.edu
Subject: Re: [SIGMETRICS] Science/NSF report


Even more so - let's leave both AACR2 and the MARC records to the
catalogers when possible :)
(actually, I think AACR2 is just fee-based? Either in print or through
catalogers desktop)

My question was something different.  I know there is an OCLC api web
service to match up multiple ISBNs (xISBN,
http://www.worldcat.org/affiliate/webservices/xisbn/app.jsp).  Is there
a similar service to automate this hunting of OCLC records for ISSNs and
journal names and changes?

Maybe something like Ulrich's would be more user friendly?


Christina

-----Original Message-----
From: ASIS&T Special Interest Group on Metrics
[mailto:SIGMETRICS at LISTSERV.UTK.EDU] On Behalf Of Loet Leydesdorff
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 11:20 AM
To: SIGMETRICS at LISTSERV.UTK.EDU
Subject: Re: [SIGMETRICS] Science/NSF report


Dear Stephen, 

Thank you so much. Can you provide an URL for an online version of
AACR2, please? (The library of our university has the book, but it is
out.) I could not find an URL. 

The MARC Codes and the tracing are better left to the real librarians
among us, aren't they?

With best wishes, 


Loet

________________________________

Loet Leydesdorff
Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR), Kloveniersburgwal
48, 1012 CX Amsterdam. 
Tel.: +31-20- 525 6598; fax: +31-20- 525 3681 loet at leydesdorff.net ;
http://www.leydesdorff.net/ 

 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ASIS&T Special Interest Group on Metrics 
> [mailto:SIGMETRICS at LISTSERV.UTK.EDU] On Behalf Of Stephen J Bensman
> Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 4:28 PM
> To: SIGMETRICS at LISTSERV.UTK.EDU
> Subject: Re: [SIGMETRICS] Science/NSF report
> 
> Adminstrative info for SIGMETRICS (for example unsubscribe):
> http://web.utk.edu/~gwhitney/sigmetrics.html
> 
> I should like to point out that what you are counting are not really 
> journals.  The JCRs do not define journals as bibliographic entities.
> What you are counting are disaggregated title segments, which have to 
> be combined into bibliographic entities in accordance with the logic 
> of your research.  I would suggest that you study chapter 12 of the 
> Anglo-American Cataloging Rules on "Continuing Resources", which is 
> also available online in French and German translations.  I would also

> suggest that you become acquainted with MARC Codes 770-785, so that 
> you can trace in OCLC the bibliographic history of the JCR title 
> segments.
> Otherwise what you may working with a random mass of serial segments 
> unrecognizable to your audience of interest.
> 
> Stephen J. Bensman
> LSU Libraries
> Louisiana State University
> Baton Rouge, LA   70803
> USA
> notsjb at lsu.edu
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ASIS&T Special Interest Group on Metrics 
> [mailto:SIGMETRICS at LISTSERV.UTK.EDU] On Behalf Of Loet Leydesdorff
> Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 8:52 AM
> To: SIGMETRICS at LISTSERV.UTK.EDU
> Subject: Re: [SIGMETRICS] Science/NSF report
> 
> Adminstrative info for SIGMETRICS (for example unsubscribe):
> http://web.utk.edu/~gwhitney/sigmetrics.html
> 
> Dear Vladimir,
> 
> Yes, this solves the issue. The SCI contained 3722 journals in 2005, 
> the SSCI 1747. The sum is 5469, but there is some overlap, and 
> therefore:
> 5341
> journals. 
> 
> The file of the NSF gives for 5394 journals a match with the JCR 
> (including the expanded set). Thus, this seems OK.
> 
> The IpIq Fieldname "Professional Fields" is attributed in
> 2005 to 446 of
> these journals.
> 5469 - 446 = 4948 or alternatively: 5341 - 446 = 4895. The Indicators
> 2008
> (at p. 5-37) mention 4906 journals. Thus, this is OK.
> 
> Thank you so much!
> 
> Best wishes,
> 
> 
> Loet
> ________________________________
> 
> Loet Leydesdorff
> Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR), Kloveniersburgwal

> 48, 1012 CX Amsterdam.
> Tel.: +31-20- 525 6598; fax: +31-20- 525 3681 loet at leydesdorff.net ; 
> http://www.leydesdorff.net/
> 
>  
>