Scientometrics is the science of measuring and analysing science. In practice, scientometrics is often done using bibliometrics which is a measurement of the impact of (scientific) publications.
Modern scientometrics is mostly based on the work of Derek J. de Solla Price and Eugene Garfield. The latter founded the Institute for Scientific Information which is heavily used for scientometric analysis.
Methods of research include qualitative, quantitative and computational approaches.
One significant finding in the field is a principle of cost escalation to the effect that achieving further findings at a given level of importance grow exponentially more costly in the expenditure of effort and resources.
Related fields are the history of science and technology, philosophy of science and sociology of scientific knowledge.
Journals in the field include Scientometrics, Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (JASIST) and Social Studies of Science as well as the electronic journal Cybermetrics. International Journal of Scientometrics, Informetrics and Bibliometrics.
The International Society for Scientometrics and Infometrics (ISSI) founded in 1993 is an association of professionals in the field.
Price is the author of *Little Science, Big Science*, published in 1963. Eugene Garfield and Robert K. Merton wrote edited an expanded second edition titled *Little Science, Big Science ... and Beyond*, published in 1986, which includes additional classic papers by Price on scientometrics.
Price deals with the topics of collaboration in science, citation patterns in science, and multiple discoveries in science.
See also
- Bibliometrics
- Citation Analysis
- History of science and technology
- Philosophy of science
- Sociology of scientific knowledge
References
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This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008) |
- Derek J. Price, Little Science, Big Science (New York, 1963)
- G. M. Dobrov, Wissenschaftswissenschaft (Berlin, 1970)
- Nicholas Rescher, Scientific Progress (Oxford, 1978)
External links
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