papers of posssible interst to Sig Metrics readers

Mon Jun 4 20:43:50 EDT 2012

Title:
Identifying attractive *research* fields for new scientists

Authors:
Akritidis, L; Katsaros, D; Bozanis, P

Author Full Names:
Akritidis, Leonidas; Katsaros, Dimitrios; Bozanis, Panayiotis

Source:
SCIENTOMETRICS, 91 (3):869-894; 10.1007/s11192-012-0646-4 JUN 2012 

Language:
English

Document Type:
Article

Author Keywords:
Scientist, Author, Research area, Research field, Scientometrics, Attractive

KeyWords Plus:
H-INDEX; HIRSCH INDEX; JOURNALS; RANKING; SCIENCE; CITATIONS; IMPACT

Abstract:
Prior to the beginning of a scientific career, every new scientist is obliged to confront the critical issue of defining the subject area where his/her future research will be conducted. Regardless of the capabilities of a new scholar, an erroneous selection may condemn a dignified effort and result in wasted energy, time and resources. In this article we attempt to identify the research fields which are attractive to these individuals. To the best of our knowledge, this is a new topic that has never been discussed or addressed in the literature. Here we formally set the problem and we propose a solution combining the characteristics of the attractive research areas and the new scholars. Our approach is compared against a statistical model which reveals popular research areas. The comparison of this method to our proposed model leads to the conclusion that not all trendy research areas are suitable for new scientists. A secondary outcome reveals the existence of scientific f!
 ields which although they are not so emerging, they are promising for scientists who are starting their career.

Reprint Address:
Katsaros, D (reprint author), Univ Thessaly, Volos, Greece

Addresses:
[Akritidis, Leonidas; Katsaros, Dimitrios; Bozanis, Panayiotis] Univ Thessaly, Volos, Greece

E-mail Address:
leoakr at infuth.gr; dkatsar at inf.uth.gr; pbozanis at inf.uth.gr

Cited Reference Count:
25

Times Cited:
0

Publisher:
SPRINGER, VAN GODEWIJCKSTRAAT 30, 3311 GZ DORDRECHT, NETHERLANDS

ISSN:
0138-9130

Web of Science Category:
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications; Information Science & Library Science

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* 
Title:
Using complex networks concepts *to* assess approaches for citations in *scientific* papers

Authors:
Amancio, DR; Nunes, MGV; Oliveira, ON; Costa, LD

Author Full Names:
Amancio, D. R.; Nunes, M. G. V.; Oliveira, O. N., Jr.; Costa, L. da F.

Source:
SCIENTOMETRICS, 91 (3):827-842; 10.1007/s11192-012-0630-z JUN 2012 

Language:
English

Document Type:
Article

Author Keywords:
Complex networks, Virtual scientometry, Similarity network

KeyWords Plus:
CITING BEHAVIOR; FAWLTY TOWERS; OMBUDSMAN; QUALITY; SCIENCE

Abstract:
The number of citations received by authors in scientific journals has become a major parameter to assess individual researchers and the journals themselves through the *impact factor*. A fair assessment therefore requires that the criteria for selecting references in a given manuscript should be unbiased with regard to the authors or journals cited. In this paper, we assess approaches for citations considering two recommendations for authors to follow while preparing a manuscript: (i) consider similarity of contents with the topics investigated, lest related work should be reproduced or ignored; (ii) perform a systematic search over the network of citations including seminal or very related papers. We use formalisms of complex networks for two datasets of papers from the arXiv and the Web of Science repositories to show that neither of these two criteria is fulfilled in practice. By representing the texts as complex networks we estimated a similarity index between pieces of!
  texts and found that the list of references did not contain the most similar papers in the dataset. This was quantified by calculating a consistency index, whose maximum value is one if the references in a given paper are the most similar in the dataset. For the areas of "complex networks" and "graphenes", the consistency index was only 0.11-0.23 and 0.10-0.25, respectively. To simulate a systematic search in the citation network, we employed a traditional random walk search (i.e. diffusion) and a random walk whose probabilities of transition are proportional to the number of the ingoing edges of the neighbours. The frequency of visits to the nodes (papers) in the network had a very small correlation with either the actual list of references in the papers or with the number of downloads from the arXiv repository. Therefore, apparently the authors and users of the repository did not follow the criterion related to a systematic search over the network of citations. Based on !
 these results, we propose an approach that we believe is faire!
 r for ev
aluating and complementing citations of a given author, effectively leading to a virtual scientometry.

Reprint Address:
Amancio, DR (reprint author), Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Phys Sao Carlos, POB 369, BR-13560970 Sao Paulo, Brazil

Addresses:
[Amancio, D. R.; Oliveira, O. N., Jr.; Costa, L. da F.] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Phys Sao Carlos, BR-13560970 Sao Paulo, Brazil
[Nunes, M. G. V.] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Math & Comp Sci, BR-13560970 Sao Paulo, Brazil

E-mail Address:
diegoraphael at gmail.com

Funding Acknowledgement:
FAPESP[2010/00927-9]; CNPq (Brazil)

Funding Text:
The authors are grateful to FAPESP (2010/00927-9) and CNPq (Brazil) for the financial support.

Cited Reference Count:
50

Times Cited:
0

Publisher:
SPRINGER, VAN GODEWIJCKSTRAAT 30, 3311 GZ DORDRECHT, NETHERLANDS

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Title:
Author self-citations in the field of ecology

Authors:
Leblond, M

Author Full Names:
Leblond, Mathieu

Source:
SCIENTOMETRICS, 91 (3):943-953; 10.1007/s11192-011-0565-9 JUN 2012 

Language:
English

Document Type:
Article

Author Keywords:
Bibliometrics, Citation models, Diachronous self-citations, Journal impact factor, Self-reference, Synchronous self-citations

KeyWords Plus:
JOURNAL IMPACT FACTOR; COLLABORATION; ARTICLES; INDEX; RATES

Abstract:
Ecologists writing research articles frequently cite their own papers. Self-citations are frequent in science, but the reasons behind abnormally high rates of self-citations are questionable. My goals were to assess the prevalence of author self-citations and to identify the combination of attributes that best predict high levels of self-citations in ecology articles. I searched 643 articles from 9 different ecology journals of various impact factors for synchronous (i.e., within reference lists) and diachronous (i.e., following publication) self-citations, using the Web of Science online database. I assessed the effect of the number of authors, pages, and references/citations, the proportion of diachronous/synchronous self-citations, and the *impact factor*, on the proportion of synchronous and diachronous self-citations separately. I compared various candidate models made of these covariates using Akaike's Information Criterion. On average, ecologists made 6.0 synchronous !
 self-citations (12.8% of references), and 2.5 diachronous self-citations (25.5% of citations received 2.8 to 4.5 years after publication) per article. The best predictor of the proportion of synchronous self-citations was the number of authors. My study is the first to report recidivism in the inclusion of self-citations by researchers, i.e., the proportion of diachronous self-citations was best explained by the proportion of synchronous self-citations. The proportion of self-citations also increased with the number of pages and the *impact factor* of ecology journals, and decreased with the number of references/citations. Although a lot of variance remained unexplained, my study successfully showed regularities in the propensity of ecologists to include self-citations in their research articles.

Reprint Address:
Leblond, M (reprint author), Univ Quebec, Dept Biol Chim & Geog, 300 Allee Ursulines, Rimouski, PQ G5L 3A1, Canada

Addresses:
Univ Quebec, Dept Biol Chim & Geog, Rimouski, PQ G5L 3A1, Canada

E-mail Address:
mathieu_leblond at uqar.qc.ca

Cited Reference Count:
26

Times Cited:
0

Publisher:
SPRINGER, VAN GODEWIJCKSTRAAT 30, 3311 GZ DORDRECHT, NETHERLANDS

Cited References: 
Glanzel W, 2004, SCIENTOMETRICS, V59, P63
Macdonald Stuart, 2011, ORGANIZATION, V18, P467
Aksnes DW, 2003, SCIENTOMETRICS, V56, P235
Costas Rodrigo, 2010, SCIENTOMETRICS, V82, P517
Snyder H, 1998, JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SCIENCE, V24, P431
Leimu R, 2005, BIOSCIENCE, V55, P438
LAWANI SM, 1982, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE, V33, P281
Garfield E., 1992, Science and Public Policy, V19, P321
GARFIELD E, 1963, AMERICAN DOCUMENTATION, V14, P195
White HD, 2001, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, V52, P87
Glanzel W, 2006, SCIENTOMETRICS, V67, P67
Hyland K, 2003, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, V54, P251
Garfield E, 2006, JAMA-JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, V295, P90
Hutson SR, 2006, JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHOD AND THEORY, V13, P1
Amin M., 2000, Perspect. Publ., V1, P1
Zhivotovsky Lev A., 2008, SCIENTOMETRICS, V77, P373
Burnham K. P., 2002, Model Selection and Inference: A Practical Information-Theoretic Approach, 
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Pichappan P, 2002, SCIENTOMETRICS, V54, P285
Hirsch JE, 2005, PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, V102, P16569
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Hyland K, 2001, ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES, V20, P207

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* 
Title:
Benchmarking citation measures among the Australian education professoriate

Authors:
Albion, PR

Author Full Names:
Albion, Peter R.

Source:
AUSTRALIAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER, 39 (2):221-235; 10.1007/s13384-012-0060-1 MAY 2012 

Language:
English

Document Type:
Article

Author Keywords:
Citation measures, Bibliometrics, Research impact, Educational research, Publication

KeyWords Plus:
GOOGLE SCHOLAR; H-INDEX; PERFORMANCE; COUNTS; SCOPUS; IMPACT; WEB

Abstract:
Individual researchers and the organisations for which they work are interested in comparative measures of research performance for a variety of purposes. Such comparisons are facilitated by quantifiable measures that are easily obtained and offer convenience and a sense of objectivity. One popular measure is the journal *impact factor*, based on citation rates, but it is a measure intended for journals rather than individuals. Moreover, educational research publications are not well represented in the databases most widely used for calculation of citation measures, leading to doubts about the usefulness of such measures in education. Newer measures and data sources offer alternatives that provide wider representation of education research. However, research has shown that citation rates vary according to discipline and that valid comparisons depend upon the availability of discipline-specific benchmarks. This study sought to provide such benchmarks for Australian educationa!
 l researchers based on analysis of citation measures obtained for the Australian education professoriate.

Reprint Address:
Albion, PR (reprint author), Univ So Queensland, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia

Addresses:
Univ So Queensland, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia

E-mail Address:
Peter.Albion at usq.edu.au

Cited Reference Count:
29

Times Cited:
0

Publisher:
SPRINGER, VAN GODEWIJCKSTRAAT 30, 3311 GZ DORDRECHT, NETHERLANDS

ISSN:
0311-6999

Web of Science Category:
Education & Educational Research

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Title:
Analysis of publications on infectious diseases. a comparative study of ten countries in the period 2000-2009

Authors:
Inigo, J; Chaves, F

Author Full Names:
Inigo, Jesus; Chaves, Fernando

Source:
ENFERMEDADES INFECCIOSAS Y MICROBIOLOGIA CLINICA, 30 (5):236-242; 10.1016/j.eimc.2011.10.017 MAY 2012 

Language:
Spanish

Document Type:
Article

Author Keywords:
Literature analysis, Scientific publications, Infectious diseases, International collaboration

KeyWords Plus:
JOURNAL IMPACT FACTOR; HIRSCHS H-INDEX; SCIENTIFIC-RESEARCH; BIOMEDICAL-RESEARCH; BIBLIOMETRIC MAP; EUROPEAN-UNION; SCIENCE; SPAIN; INDICATORS; ARTICLES

Abstract:
Objective: We analyse the productivity and visibility of Spanish publications on the subject category of infectious diseases in the period 2000-2009 and compared with the corresponding nine other countries.
Methods: We used the database Web of Science. Analysis (annual and five-year) was restricted to the citable documents. The bibliometric indicators used were the number of publications, the amount of citations, median and interquartile range of the citations and the h-index Hirsch.
Results: There were 76,491 publications (84.1% were original articles) with a percentage increase of 20% between the two periods. The ten countries with over 50,000 citations were the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Holland, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Australia. 24.8% of publications in international collaboration was made and received 29.9% of the total citations. 47.1% of the publications corresponding to the first quartile journals and received 68.1% of the total citations. The median of citations for all publications was 9 (interquartile range: 4-21). Spain was the fifth country in the world by number of publications, the seventh by citations received, and the eighth by the h index. Spain was the country with the lowest percentage of publications in the first quartile (40.2%), and international collaboration (26.7%).
Conclusions: In the period 2000-2009 analysed we observed a high production of publications by Spanish authors, with a high growth rate, and a prominent position in the total number of citations received by publications. (C) 2011 Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.

Reprint Address:
Inigo, J (reprint author), Consejeria Sanidad Comunidad Madrid, Com Et Invest Clin Reg, Madrid, Spain

Addresses:
[Inigo, Jesus] Consejeria Sanidad Comunidad Madrid, Com Et Invest Clin Reg, Madrid, Spain
[Chaves, Fernando] Hosp Univ 12 Octubre, Microbiol Serv, Madrid, Spain

E-mail Address:
jesus.inigo at salud.madrid.org

Cited Reference Count:
26

Publisher:
EDICIONES DOYMA S A, TRAV DE GRACIA 17-21, 08021 BARCELONA, SPAIN

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