Contents of Scientometrics Vol:74, No:3 (03.2008)

Eugene Garfield garfield at CODEX.CIS.UPENN.EDU
Fri Mar 7 17:18:38 EST 2008


Scientometrics, Vol. 74, No. 3 (2008)

CONTENTS & ABSTRACTS


TITLE : A new approach to institutional domain analysis: Multilevel 
research fronts structure	331
AUTHOR : Sandra Miguel, Félix Moya-Anegón, Víctor Herrero-Solana 
a Library Science Department, National University of La Plata, La Plata 
(Argentina)
b Library and Information Science Department, University of Granada, 
Granada (Spain)
E-mail: sandra at fcnym.unlp.edu.ar

Abstract
The intellectual structure and main research fronts of the Faculty of 
Natural Sciences and Museum of the National University of La Plata, 
Argentina is studied, based on the cocitation analysis of subject 
categories, journals and authors of their scientific publications collected 
in the Science Citation Index, CD-ROM version, for the period 1991–2000. 
The objective of this study is to test the utility of those techniques to 
explore and to visualize the intellectual structure and research fronts of 
multidisciplinary institutional domains. Special emphasis is laid on the 
identification of multilevel structures, by means of arrangements of 
subject categories cocitation analysis and journal cocitation analysis.

Address for correspondence:
SANDRA MIGUEL
Library Science Department, National University of La Plata
48 e/ 6 y 7 (1900) La Plata, Argentina
E-mail: sandra at fcnym.unlp.edu.ar

Scientometrics, Vol. 74, No. 3 (2008) 331–344
DOI: 10.1007/s11192-007-1586-2
-------------------------------


TITLE : Correlation analysis between university research competitiveness 
and library’s scholarly information in OECD nations and Korea	345
AUTHOR : YOON HEE YOONa, KIM SIN YOUNGb
a Library & Information Science Department, Daegu University, Gyeongsan 
(South Korea)
b Library & Information Science Department, Daelim College, Gyeongsan 
(South Korea)
E-mail: yhy at daegu.ac.kr

Abstract
Beginning from the premise that research competitiveness at the university 
level is the starting point for national competitiveness as a whole, this 
paper analyzes the correlation between university research-related 
performance and the scholarly or academic resources available through a 
country’s library system. An analysis of this correlation from two 
different angles – a macroscopic approach considering universities in OECD 
nations and a microscopic approach focusing only upon universities in 
Korea – found that there is indeed a significant correlation between 
university research performance and the scholarly information available at 
libraries. A regression analysis of the two approaches also found that the 
more journal titles subscribed to by university libraries and the higher 
their budget for materials, the greater the contribution university 
libraries make to university research competitiveness in Korea as well as 
other OECD countries. In this light, in order for Korea to reach a level of 
research competitiveness comparable to other OECD members, policies need to 
be created that will effectively increase the number of journals subscribed 
to by university libraries.   

Address for correspondence:
YOON HEE YOON
Library & Information Science Department, Daegu University
Jinryang, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk, P. O. Box 712714, South Korea
E-mail: yhy at daegu.ac.kr

Scientometrics, Vol. 74, No. 3 (2008) 345–360
DOI: 10.1007/s11192-007-1753-5 
-------------------------------


TITLE : Are international co-publications an indicator for quality of 
scientific research?	361
AUTOR : Ulrich Schmoch, Torben Schubert 
E-Mail : torben.schubert at isi.fraunhofer.de


Abstract

This article deals with the role of internationally co-authored papers (co-
publications). Specifically, we compare, within a data-set of German 
research units, citation and co-publication indicators as a proxy for the 
unobserved quality dimension of scientific research. In that course we will 
also deal with the question whether both citations and co-publications are 
considerably related. Our results suggest that, although there is a strong 
partial correlation between citations and co-publications within a 
multivariate setting, we cannot use reasonably normalised co-publication 
indicators as an alternative proxy for quality. Thus, concerning quality 
assessment, there remains a primer on citation analysis. 

Address for correspondence:
TORBEN SCHUBERT
Fraunhofer Institute Systems and Innovation Research
Breslauer Straße 48, 76139 Karlsruhe, Germany
E-mail: torben.schubert at isi.fraunhofer.de

Scientometrics, Vol. 74, No. 3 (2008) 361–377
DOI: 10.1007/s11192-007-1818-5 
-------------------------------


TITLE : Editorial and publication delay of papers submitted to 14 selected 
Food Research  journals. Influence of online posting	379

AUTHOR : CARLOS B. AMAT
Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos (IATA-CSIC), Burjassot, 
Valencia (Spain)

Abstract

Introduction: Publication delay, chronological distance between completion 
of a scientific work and distribution of its achievements as a peer 
reviewed paper, is a negative phenomenon in scientific information 
dissemination. It can be further subdivided in successive stages 
corresponding to the peer review process and the technical preparation of 
accepted manuscripts. Formal online posting in electronic versions of 
journals has been considered as a shortening of the process. 
Objectives: To determine publication delay in a group of leading Food 
Research journals, as well as factors affecting this lag and also to 
compute the effect of formal online posting on the distribution of papers 
in electronic form. Secondary objective is also to study the possible 
effect of informal posting of papers through some repositories on the 
publication delay in the field. 
Methods: 14 Food Research journals were selected and 4836 papers published 
in 2004 were examined. Dates of first submission, submission of revised 
manuscripts, acceptation, online posting and final publication were 
recorded for each paper. 
Analysis: Data collected were analyzed using SPSS and SigmaPlot. Parametric 
correlation between some variables was determined and ANOVA was performed 
with BMDP package for significance analysis of differences among journals. 
Results: average publication delay of papers submitted to the set of 
selected journals is 348 ± 104 days, with European Food Research and 
Technology and Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry showing the 
shortest delays. Total delay strongly depends on the peer review process. 
On average, 85.75% of manuscripts are corrected prior to their acceptance 
by journals. Online posting of papers prior to their print publication 
reduces total delay in about 29%. On average, a paper is posted online 260 
days after its submission to the set of journals. 
Conclusions: Publication delay of papers is strongly dependent on the peer 
review process, which affects most of the manuscripts in the Food Research 
field. Advanced online publication through formal posting at the editor’s 
sites only slightly reduces the time between reception and final 
publication of papers.


Address for correspondence:
CARLOS B. AMAT
Scientific Documentation and Library Unit
Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos (IATA)
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
P.O. Box 73, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain
E-mail: Carlos.Benito at iata.csic.es

Scientometrics, Vol. 74, No. 3 (2008) 379–389
DOI: 10.1007/s11192-007-1823-8
-------------------------------



TITLE : World-wide university rankings: A Scandinavian approach    391

AUTHOR : OSMO KIVINEN, JUHA HEDMAN
Research Unit for the Sociology of Education, RUSE, University of Turku, 
Turku (Finland)
E-mail: osmo.kivinen at utu.fi

Abstract

Although universities’ world rankings are popular, their design and methods 
still request considerable elaborations. The paper demonstrates some 
shortcomings in the Academic World Ranking of Universities (ARWU, Shanghai 
Jiao Tong University) ranking methods. One deficiency is that universities’ 
scale differences are neglected due to omitting the whole input side. By 
resampling and reanalyzing the ARWU data, the paper proposes an input–
output analysis for measuring universities’ scientific productivity with 
special emphasis on those universities which meet the productivity 
threshold (i.e. share of output exceeds share of input) in a certain group 
of universities. The productivity analysis on Scandinavian universities 
evaluates multidisciplinary and specialized universities on their own 
terms; consequently the ranking based on scientific productivity deviates 
significantly from the ARWU.

Address for correspondence:
OSMO KIVINEN
Research Unit for the Sociology of Education, RUSE, University of Turku
Hämeenkatu 1, FIN-20014 Turku, Finland
E-mail: osmo.kivinen at utu.fi

Scientometrics, Vol. 74, No. 3 (2008) 391–408
DOI: 10.1007/s11192-007-1820-y
-------------------------------


TITLE : International earth science literature from Turkey – 1970–2005: 
Trends and  possible causes	409

AUTHOR : CANDAN GOKCEOGLUa, ARAL I. OKAYb, EBRU SEZERc

a Department of Geological Engineering, Hacettepe University, Beytepe, 
Ankara (Turkey)
b Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, Istanbul Technical University, 
Maslak, Istanbul (Turkey)
c Department of Computer Engineering, Hacettepe University, Beytepe, Ankara 
(Turkey)
E-mail: cgokce at hacettepe.edu.tr
	
Abstract

We investigated the publication trends in the international earth science 
literature coming out of Turkey in the period of 1970–2005 using the 
Science Citation Index Expanded database. A database of 2310 earth science 
publications with at least one of the authors with an address in Turkey was 
compiled. The number of earth science publications from Turkey shows a very 
rapid increase starting in the 1990’s in parallel with the increase in the 
total scientific output of Turkey. In the last decade the annual growth 
rate has been 16%. There was also a concomitant increase in the number of 
citations. The causes of the sharp increase in the publication numbers are, 
in order of importance, changes in the rules of academic promotion and 
appointment, changes in academic attitudes towards publishing, increasing 
support for research, financial incentives for publishing, and expansion of 
higher education. However, the sharp increase in the publication numbers 
was not accompanied by a similar increase in the impact of the publications 
as measured by the citations. Although publications with first authors from 
outside Turkey make up only 20% of the Turkish earth science publications 
in the period 1970–2005, these account for 38% of the total citations, and 
constitute 48 out of 100 most cited papers.

Address for correspondence:
CANDAN GOKCEOGLU
Department of Geological Engineering, Hacettepe University
Beytepe, 06800, Ankara, Turkey
E-mail: cgokce at hacettepe.edu.tr

Scientometrics, Vol. 74, No. 3 (2008) 409–423
DOI: 10.1007/s11192-007-1813-x 
-------------------------------



TITLE :  Increasing discrepancy between absolute and effective indexes of 
research output in a Brazilian academic department	425

AUTHOR : ANTÔNIO F. PEREIRA DE ARAÚJO

Laboratório de Biologia Teórica, Departamento de Biologia Celular, 
Universidade de Brasília,Brasília (Brazil)
E-mail: aaraujo at unb.br

Abstract

We investigate possible effects from a strong encouragement for a large 
number of publications on the scientific production of a Brazilian cell 
biology department. An average increase in individual absolute production 
and a concomitant decrease in individual participation in each paper were 
detected by traditional bibliometric parameters, such as number of 
publications, citations, impact factors and h index, combined to 
their “effective” versions, in which coauthorship is taken into 
consideration. The observed situation, which might well represent a 
national trend, should be considered as a strong warning against current 
criteria of scientific evaluation heavily based on uncritical counting of 
publications.

Address for correspondence:
ANTÔNIO F. PEREIRA DE ARAÚJO
Laboratório de Biologia Teórica, Departamento de Biologia Celular
Universidade de Brasília, Brasília – DF 70910-900, Brazil
E-mail: aaraujo at unb.br

Scientometrics, Vol. 74, No. 3 (2008) 425–437
DOI: 10.1007/s11192-007-1817-6



--------------------------------------



TITLE : On the ratio of citable versus non-citable items in economics 
journals	439

AUTHOR : TOVE FABER FRANDSEN
Royal School of Library and Information Science, Copenhagen (Denmark)
E-mail: tff at db.dk


Abstract

This paper presents a study of possible changes in patterns of document 
types in economics journals since the mid-1980s. Furthermore, the study 
includes an analysis of a possible relation between the profile of a 
journal concerning composition of document types and factors such as place 
of publication and JIF. The results provide little evidence that the 
journal editors have succeeded in manipulating the distribution of document 
types. Furthermore, there is little support for the hypothesis that journal 
editors decrease the number of publications included in the calculation of 
JIF or for that matter for the hypothesis that journal editors increase the 
number of publications not included in the calculation of JIF. The results 
of the analyses show that there is a clear distinction of journals based on 
place of publication and JIF.

Address for correspondence:
TOVE FABER FRANDSEN
Royal School of Library and Information Science
Birketinget 6, Copenhagen S. Denmark
E-mail: tff at db.dk

Scientometrics, Vol. 74, No. 3 (2008) 439–451
DOI: 10.1007/s11192-007-1697-9

-----------------------------------------



TITLE : The influence of references per paper in the SCI to Impact Factors 
and the Matthew Effect	453

AUTHOR : MOHAMMAD HOSSEIN BIGLU
Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Bibliotheks- und 
Informationswissenschaft, Berlin (Germany)
E-mail: mh_biglu at yahoo.com

Abstract

All references data was extracted from the annual volumes of the CD-Edition 
of Science Citation Index (SCI) and the Web of Science of the Institute for 
Scientific Information (ISI), the journal citation and self-citation data 
extracted from the Journal Citation Report (JCR), the selfciting rate and 
self-cited rate calculated based on the JCR method. To determine the trend 
of mean value of references per paper throughout 1970–2005, a total number 
of 10,000 records were randomly chosen for each year of under study, and 
the mean value of references per paper was calculated. To determine the 
growth of journals IF a total number of 5,499 journals were chosen in the 
JCR in 2002 and the same set of journals in the year 2004. To show the 
trend of journals IF, all journals indexed in the JCR throughout 1999–2005 
were extracted and the mean values of their Ifs was calculated annually.
The study showed that the number of references per paper from 1970 to 2005 
has steady increased. It reached from 8.40 in 1970 to 34.63 in 2005, an 
increase of more than 4 times. The majority of publications (76.17%) were 
in the form of Journals Article. After articles, Meeting Abstracts (9.46%), 
Notes (3.90%) and Editorial Material (3.78%) are the most frequented 
publication forms, respectively. 94.57% of all publications were in 
English. After English, German (1.50%), Russian (1.48%) and French (1.37%) 
were the most frequented languages, respectively.
The study furthermore showed that there is a significant correlation 
between the IF and total citation of journals in the JCR, and there is an 
important hidden correlation between IF and the self-citation of journals. 
This phenomena causes the elevation of journals IF. The more often a 
journal is citing other journals, the more often it is also cited (by a 
factor of 1.5) by others.
In consequence the growing percentage of journal self-citation is followed 
by journal selfcitedness, which can be considered as the Matthew Effect. 
There is a linear correlation between journal self-citing and journal self-
cited value, the mean value of self-cited rate always stays higher than the 
self-citing rate.
The mean value of self-cited rate in 2000 was 14% and the mean value of 
self-citing rate is 6.61%, whereas the mean value of self-cited rate in 
2005 was 12% and the mean value of selfciting rate was 7.81%.

Address for correspondence:
MOHAMMAD HOSSEIN BIGLU
Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Bibliotheks- und 
Informationswissenschaft
Dorotheenstraße 26, Unter den Linden 6, D–10099 Berlin, Germany
E-mail: mh_biglu at yahoo.com

Scientometrics, Vol. 74, No. 3 (2008) 453–470	
DOI: 10.1007/s11192-007-1815-8
-------------------------------



TITLE : Locating active actors in the scientific collaboration communities 
based on interaction topology analyses	471
 
AUTHOR : YICHUAN JIANGa,b
a School of Automation, Southeast University, Nanjing (P. R. China)
b Department of Social Informatics, Kyoto University, Kyoto (Japan)
E-mail: jiangyichuan at yahoo.com.cn


Abstract

While implementing a large-scale research project, it is necessary to 
appoint some principle scientists, and let each principle scientist lead a 
research group. In a scientific collaboration community, different 
scientists perform different roles while they implement the project, and 
some scientists may be more active than others; these active scientists 
often undertake the role of leadership or key coordinator in the project. 
Obviously, we should assign the role of principle scientists onto those 
active actors in the communities. In this paper, we present the model and 
algorithms for locating active actors in the community based on the 
analyses of scientists’ interaction topology, the actors with high 
connection degrees in the interaction topology can be considered as active 
ones. Finally, we make some case studies for our model and algorithms.

Address for correspondence:
YICHUAN JIANG
School of Automation, Southeast University
Si Pai Lou 2#, Nanjing 210096, P. R. China
E-mail: jiangyichuan at yahoo.com.cn

Scientometrics, Vol. 74, No. 3 (2008) 471–482
DOI: 10.1007/s11192-007-1587-1



More information about the SIGMETRICS mailing list