Implications for the Consideration of References Instead of Citations for the Bibliometric Laws and Science Evaluation
| Main Authors: | Silio Martinez, Teresa, Aguillo, Isidro F. |
|---|---|
| Format: | Proceeding PeerReviewed Book |
| Bahasa: | es |
| Terbitan: |
, 2006
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
http://eprints.rclis.org/29187/1/TSilio%20Poster%20INSTAC.pdf http://eprints.rclis.org/29187/ |
Daftar Isi:
- INTRODUCTION: Citation indexes are produced by counting de-contextualised citations, which result from the transformation of references into citations, generating two different objects -two different signs-. This causes an ambiguity of both signs which is relevant for citation indexes and for science evaluation. METHODOLOGY: Two methods were used: 1) Qualitatively: It is performed a semiotic analysis in order to distinguish between bibliographic references and citations in terms of electronic reference linking. 2) Quantitatively: Citations and references were counted within a relevant sample of papers from different scientific disciplines. RESULTS: Tthe number of bibliographic references is higher than the number of citations in the 100 % of the sample articles analysed. In many cases, the number of references is twice as the number of citations. The 30,1 % of the citations were referenced several times, for were counted just once. DISCUSSION: By considering references instead of citations, the following bibliometric laws and indicators are affected: Bradford / De Solla’s law, direct academic journal citations, bibliographic coupling, co-citation, impact factor and h-index. A semiotic ambiguity between references and citations causes a relevant error in science evaluation that can be avoided by the use of electronic reference linking.