hα: the scientist as chimpanzee or bonobo

Loet Leydesdorff, Lutz Bornmann () and Tobias Opthof ()
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Tobias Opthof: Academic Medical Center AMC

Scientometrics, 2019, vol. 118, issue 3, No 22, 1163-1166

Abstract: Abstract In a recent paper, Hirsch (hα: an index to quantify an individual’s scientific leadership, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-018-2994-1 ) proposes to attribute the credit for a co-authored paper to the α-author—the authors with the highest h-index—regardless of his or her actual contribution, effectively reducing the role of the other co-authors to zero. The indicator hα inherits most of the disadvantages of the h-index from which it is derived, but adds the normative element of reinforcing the Matthew effect in science. Using an example, we show that hα can be extremely unstable. The empirical attribution of credit among co-authors is not captured by abstract models such as h, $$\bar{h}$$ h ¯ , or hα.

Keywords: h-index; h α; Co-authorship; Credit; Citation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11192-019-03004-3

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