 Statistical properties of bibliometric indicators: Research group indicator distributions and correlationsAnthony F.J. van Raan Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2006, vol. 57, issue 3, 408-430 Abstract: In this article we present an empirical approach to the study of the statistical properties of bibliometric indicators on a very relevant but not simply “available” aggregation level: the research group. We focus on the distribution functions of a coherent set of indicators that are used frequently in the analysis of research performance. In this sense, the coherent set of indicators acts as a measuring instrument. Better insight into the statistical properties of a measuring instrument is necessary to enable assessment of the instrument itself. The most basic distribution in bibliometric analysis is the distribution of citations over publications, and this distribution is very skewed. Nevertheless, we clearly observe the working of the central limit theorem and find that at the level of research groups the distribution functions of the main indicators, particularly the journal‐ normalized and the field‐normalized indicators, approach normal distributions. The results of our study underline the importance of the idea of “group oeuvre,” that is, the role of sets of related publications as a unit of analysis. Date: 2006 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:jamist:v:57:y:2006:i:3:p:408-430 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article More articles in Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology from Association for Information Science & Technology |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.