[Sigmetrics] So-called scientists too lazy to perform background reading in libraries

[Terrie Rose Wheeler]

The first paper that officially used the term “impact factor” with regards
to journals was published in Science in 1955. The first citation analysis
published that reviewed all references to papers from one scientific
journal title for a time period was done in 1926.  And the first citation
tracking was a legal service called “Shepard’s Citations" started in 1873.



On 9/24/15, 8:33 AM, "SIGMETRICS on behalf of Nicholas Collin Paul de
Glouceſter" <sigmetrics-bounces at asis.org on behalf of
de_Ghloucester at NinthFloor.org> wrote:

>On September 21st, 2015, Obinna Ojemeni sent:
>|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
>|"[. . .] it is usually advised that students exclude old literature |
>|except when a trend or seminal approach is being taken.             |
>|                                                                    |
>|[. . .]                                                             |
>|Old literature simply means outdated study which I find confusing.  |
>|                                                                    |
>|Obinna Ojemeni {M.Ed; M.Inf.Sc}                                     |
>|[. . .]"                                                            |
>|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
>
>
>Dear all:
>
>Please do not be offended, but disregarding old literature because it
>is old is not investigation. A physicist based in Spain truthfully
>said years ago at a Spanish workshop on software called Geant:
>"Newer does not mean better. Newer means newer."
>
>Investigation is investigation. Deliberately not consulting old
>investigations is conniving instead of investigation. Ignoring
>something because it is old is not the same as dismissing it because
>it is discredited or irrelevant or even outdated. Much of the `recent´
>main work relied on by everybody in one field in which I work is from
>the 1960´s. By the way, a homework question: when was the first paper
>on Impact Factors published, and are most newer papers in such a field
>really more important (or even as important) as this paper?
>
>|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
>|"-----Original Message-----                                         |
>|From: "Pikas, Christina  K." <Christina.Pikas at jhuapl.edu>           |
>|[. . .]                                                             |
>|Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2015 16:54:12                                     |
>|[. . .]                                                             |
>|                                                                    |
>|Hm. Google Scholar has found scientists are citing *older* documents|
>|(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__arxiv.org_abs_1411.0
>275&d=BQIDaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=yRulx6NdIwxgP
>IKyRtodsQO7-Egt1OOrdAWAlh1FsEA&m=xHpHnwLfjVu05hDRnfP80DIf4jVRAzFeOb3qUTkPH
>aQ&s=tIgP7x_zMZb5iM0OU3ZdeWqx24UjCtkRglhGQIw0k_k&e= ) and "growing impact
>of non-elite   |
>|journals" 
>(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__arxiv.org_abs_1411.02
>75&d=BQIDaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=yRulx6NdIwxgPI
>KyRtodsQO7-Egt1OOrdAWAlh1FsEA&m=xHpHnwLfjVu05hDRnfP80DIf4jVRAzFeOb3qUTkPHa
>Q&s=tIgP7x_zMZb5iM0OU3ZdeWqx24UjCtkRglhGQIw0k_k&e= ), possibly because
>more   |
>|archives are available online due to extensive scanning             |
>|efforts. This is research done (written up) in 2014. There has been |
>|a lot of scanning since 2008."                                      |
>|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
>
>A study restricted to 1990-2013 (
>  
>https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=HTTP-3A__Arxiv.org_abs_1411.027
>5&d=BQIDaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=yRulx6NdIwxgPIK
>yRtodsQO7-Egt1OOrdAWAlh1FsEA&m=xHpHnwLfjVu05hDRnfP80DIf4jVRAzFeOb3qUTkPHaQ
>&s=H-QSdNvNrHIisLbjYOIPQSUeoATylFDqU_hyPbKB_i4&e=
>) does not include old articles. As part of investigation which I was
>hired to do, I read research from for example more than one hundred
>years earlier. One of the libraries never has more than two scientists
>in it (despite having more than two rooms).
>
>I was the only scientist who was accessing (e.g. scanning) old papers
>in another of the libraries when this library was closed (e.g. when
>librarians were eating lunches; at nights; and during weekend days)
>every time I worked there when a librarian locked me in (because I
>did not want to depart because there was a lot of work remaining).
>
>Perhaps the quotation "growing impact of non-elite
>journals" was from a different work than
>  
>https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=HTTP-3A__Arxiv.org_abs_1411.027
>5&d=BQIDaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=yRulx6NdIwxgPIK
>yRtodsQO7-Egt1OOrdAWAlh1FsEA&m=xHpHnwLfjVu05hDRnfP80DIf4jVRAzFeOb3qUTkPHaQ
>&s=H-QSdNvNrHIisLbjYOIPQSUeoATylFDqU_hyPbKB_i4&e=
>but Dr. Pikas showed the URL
>  
>https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=HTTP-3A__Arxiv.org_abs_1411.027
>5&d=BQIDaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=yRulx6NdIwxgPIK
>yRtodsQO7-Egt1OOrdAWAlh1FsEA&m=xHpHnwLfjVu05hDRnfP80DIf4jVRAzFeOb3qUTkPHaQ
>&s=H-QSdNvNrHIisLbjYOIPQSUeoATylFDqU_hyPbKB_i4&e=
>twice.
>
>Regards,
>Nicholas Collin Paul de Gloucester