3,847 research outputs found
Identifying single influential publications in a research field: New analysis opportunities of the CRExplorer
Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS) has been developed for
identifying the cited references (CRs) with the greatest influence in a given
paper set (mostly sets of papers on certain topics or fields). The program
CRExplorer (see www.crexplorer.net) was specifically developed by Thor, Marx,
Leydesdorff, and Bornmann (2016a, 2016b) for applying RPYS to publication sets
downloaded from Scopus or Web of Science. In this study, we present some
advanced methods which have been newly developed for CRExplorer. These methods
are able to identify and characterize the CRs which have been influential
across a longer period (many citing years). The new methods are demonstrated in
this study using all the papers published in Scientometrics between 1978 and
2016. The indicators N_TOP50, N_TOP25, and N_TOP10 can be used to identify
those CRs which belong to the 50%, 25%, or 10% most frequently cited
publications (CRs) over many citing publication years. In the Scientometrics
dataset, for example, Lotka's (1926) paper on the distribution of scientific
productivity belongs to the top 10% publications (CRs) in 36 citing years.
Furthermore, the new version of CRExplorer analyzes the impact sequence of CRs
across citing years. CRs can have below average (-), average (0), or above
average (+) impact in citing years (whereby average is meant in the sense of
expected values). The sequence (e.g. 00++---0--00) is used by the program to
identify papers with typical impact distributions. For example, CRs can have
early, but not late impact ("hot papers", e.g. +++---) or vice versa ("sleeping
beauties", e.g. ---0000---++)
Computational Models for Transplant Biomarker Discovery.
Translational medicine offers a rich promise for improved diagnostics and drug discovery for biomedical research in the field of transplantation, where continued unmet diagnostic and therapeutic needs persist. Current advent of genomics and proteomics profiling called "omics" provides new resources to develop novel biomarkers for clinical routine. Establishing such a marker system heavily depends on appropriate applications of computational algorithms and software, which are basically based on mathematical theories and models. Understanding these theories would help to apply appropriate algorithms to ensure biomarker systems successful. Here, we review the key advances in theories and mathematical models relevant to transplant biomarker developments. Advantages and limitations inherent inside these models are discussed. The principles of key -computational approaches for selecting efficiently the best subset of biomarkers from high--dimensional omics data are highlighted. Prediction models are also introduced, and the integration of multi-microarray data is also discussed. Appreciating these key advances would help to accelerate the development of clinically reliable biomarker systems
Rank analysis of most cited publications, a new approach for research assessments
Citation metrics are the best tools for research assessments. However,
current metrics are misleading in research systems that pursue simultaneously
different goals, such as the advance of science and incremental innovations,
because their publications have different citation distributions. We estimate
the contribution to the progress of knowledge by studying only a limited number
of the most cited papers, which are dominated by publications pursuing this
progress. To field-normalize the metrics, we substitute the number of citations
by the rank position of papers from one country in the global list of papers.
Using synthetic series of lognormally distributed numbers, we developed the
Rk-index, which is calculated from the global ranks of the 10 highest numbers
in each series, and demonstrate its equivalence to the number of papers in top
percentiles, P top 0.1% and P top 0.01% . In real cases, the Rk-index is simple
and easy to calculate, and evaluates the contribution to the progress of
knowledge much better than commonly used metrics. Although further research is
needed, rank analysis of the most cited papers is a promising approach for
research evaluation. It is also demonstrated that, for this purpose, domestic
and collaborative papers should be studied independently.Comment: One PDF file, including figures and tables (31 pages
Like-for-like bibliometric substitutes for peer review: Advantages and limits of indicators calculated from the e(p) index
The use of bibliometric indicators would simplify research assessments. The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a peer review assessment of UK universities, whose results can be taken as benchmarks for bibliometric indicators. In this study, we use the REF results to investigate whether the e(p) index and a top percentile of most cited papers could substitute for peer review. The probability that a random university's paper reaches a certain top percentile in the global distribution of papers is a power of the e(p) index, which can be calculated from the citation-based distribution of university's papers in global top percentiles. Making use of the e(p) index in each university and research area, we calculated the ratios between the percentage of 4-star-rated outputs in REF and the percentages of papers in global top percentiles. Then, we fixed the assessment percentile so that the mean ratio between these two indicators across universities is 1.0. This method was applied to four units of assessment in REF: Chemistry, Economics and Econometrics joined to Business and Management Studies, and Physics. Some relevant deviations from the 1.0 ratio could be explained by the evaluation procedure in REF or by the characteristics of the research field; other deviations need specific studies by experts in the research area. These results indicate that in many research areas the substitution of a top percentile indicator for peer review is possible. However, this substitution cannot be made straightforwardly; more research is needed to establish the conditions of the bibliometric assessment
Instruments on large optical telescopes -- A case study
In the distant past, telescopes were known, first and foremost, for the sizes
of their apertures. Advances in technology are now enabling astronomers to
build extremely powerful instruments to the extent that instruments have now
achieved importance comparable or even exceeding the usual importance accorded
to the apertures of the telescopes. However, the cost of successive generations
of instruments has risen at a rate noticeably above that of the rate of
inflation. Here, given the vast sums of money now being expended on optical
telescopes and their instrumentation, I argue that astronomers must undertake
"cost-benefit" analysis for future planning. I use the scientific output of the
first two decades of the W. M. Keck Observatory as a laboratory for this
purpose. I find, in the absence of upgrades, that the time to reach peak paper
production for an instrument is about six years. The prime lifetime of
instruments (sans upgrades), as measured by citations returns, is about a
decade. Well thought out and timely upgrades increase and sometimes even double
the useful lifetime. I investigate how well instrument builders are rewarded. I
find acknowledgements ranging from almost 100% to as low as 60%. Next, given
the increasing cost of operating optical telescopes, the management of existing
observatories continue to seek new partnerships. This naturally raises the
question "What is the cost of a single night of telescope time". I provide a
rational basis to compute this quantity. I then end the paper with some
thoughts on the future of large ground-based optical telescopes, bearing in
mind the explosion of synoptic precision photometric, astrometric and imaging
surveys across the electromagnetic spectrum, the increasing cost of
instrumentation and the rise of mega instruments.Comment: Revised from previous submission (typos fixed, table 6 was garbled).
Submitted to PAS
Interdisciplinarity in Translation Medicine: A Bibliometric Case Study.
Ph.D. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2017
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