Guns, R (Guns, Raf); Rousseau, R (Rousseau, Ronald) Simulating Growth of the h-Index JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, 60 (2): 410-417 FEB 2009

[Eugene Garfield]

E-mail Address: raf.guns at ua.ac.be; ronald.rousseau at khbo.be 

Author(s): Guns, R (Guns, Raf); Rousseau, R (Rousseau, Ronald) 

Title: Simulating Growth of the h-Index 

Source: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND 
TECHNOLOGY, 60 (2): 410-417 FEB 2009 
 
Language: English 

Document Type: Article 

KeyWords Plus: HIRSCH INDEX; MODEL; OUTPUT 

Abstract: Temporal growth of the h-index in a diachronous cumulative time 
series is predicted to be linear by Hirsch (2005), whereas other models 
predict a concave increase. Actual data generally yield a linear growth or 
S-shaped growth. We study the h-index's growth in computer simulations of 
the publication-citation process. In most simulations the h-index grows 
linearly in time. Only occasionally does an S-shape occur, while in our 
simulations a concave increase is very rare. The latter is often signalled 
by the occurrence of plateaus-periods of h-index stagnation. Several 
parameters and their influence on the h-index's growth are determined and 
discussed. 

Addresses: [Guns, Raf] Univ Antwerp, IBW, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium; 
[Rousseau, Ronald] KHBO, Assoc KU Leuven, B-8400 Oostende, Belgium 

Reprint Address: Guns, R, Univ Antwerp, IBW, Venusstr 35,City Campus, B-
2000 Antwerp, Belgium. 

E-mail Address: raf.guns at ua.ac.be; ronald.rousseau at khbo.be 

Cited Reference Count: 24 

Times Cited: 0 

Publisher: JOHN WILEY & SONS INC 

Publisher Address: 111 RIVER ST, HOBOKEN, NJ 07030 USA 

ISSN: 1532-2882 

DOI: 10.1002/asi.20973 

29-char Source Abbrev.: J AM SOC INF SCI TECHNOL 

ISO Source Abbrev.: J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. Technol. 

Source Item Page Count: 8 

Subject Category: Computer Science, Information Systems; Information 
Science & Library Science 

ISI Document Delivery No.: 404FK 

*STIMULATE 6 GROUP
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ROUSSEAU R
J AM SOC IN IN PRESS : 

ROUSSEAU R
SCI FOCUS 1 : 16 2006