Marx, W; Bornmann, L; Cardona, M. 2010. Reference Standards and Reference Multipliers for the Comparison of the Citation Impact of Papers Published in Different Time Periods. JASIST 61 (10): 2061-2069.

[Eugene Garfield]

Marx, W; Bornmann, L; Cardona, M. 2010. Reference Standards and Reference 
Multipliers for the Comparison of the Citation Impact of Papers Published in 
Different Time Periods. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR 
INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 61 (10): 2061-2069.

Author Full Name(s): Marx, Werner; Bornmann, Lutz; Cardona, Manuel
Language: English
Document Type: Article

KeyWords Plus: H-INDEX; DISTRIBUTIONS; UNIVERSALITY; RELATIVITY; 
SCIENCE

Abstract: In this study, reference standards and reference multipliers are 
suggested as a means to compare the citation impact of earlier research 
publications in physics (from the period of "Little Science" in the early 20th 
century) with that of contemporary papers (from the period of "Big Science," 
beginning around 1960). For the development of time-specific reference 
standards, the authors determined (a) the mean citation rates of papers in 
selected physics journals as well as (b) the mean citation rates of all papers in 
physics published in 1900 (Little Science) and in 2000 (Big Science); this was 
accomplished by relying on the processes of field-specific standardization in 
bibliometry. For the sake of developing reference multipliers with which the 
citation impact of earlier papers can be adjusted to the citation impact of 
contemporary papers, they combined the reference standards calculated for 
1900 and 2000 into their ratio. The use of reference multipliers is demonstrated 
by means of two examples involving the time adjusted h index values for Max 
Planck and Albert Einstein.

Addresses: [Marx, Werner] Max Planck Inst Solid State Res, D-70569 Stuttgart, 
Germany; [Bornmann, Lutz] ETH, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland; [Cardona, 
Manuel] Max Planck Inst Solid State Res, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany

Reprint Address: Marx, W, Max Planck Inst Solid State Res, Heisenbergstr 1, D-
70569 Stuttgart, Germany.

E-mail Address: W.Marx at fkf.mpg.de; Lutz.Bornmann at gess.ethz.ch; 
M.Cardona at fkf.mpg.de
ISSN: 1532-2882
DOI: 10.1002/asi.21377
fulltext: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asi.21377/abstract