Mapping citation patterns of book chapters in the Book Citation Index

Complementary Material to this study can be found at http://hdl.handle.net/10481/22587.In this paper we provide the reader with a visual representation of relationships among the impact of book chapters indexed in the Book Citation Index using information gain values and published by different academic publishers in specific disciplines. The impact of book chapters can be characterized statistically by citations histograms. For instance, we can compute the probability of occurrence of book chapters with a number of citations in different intervals for each academic publisher. We predict the similarity between two citation histograms based on the amount of relative information between such characterizations. We observe that the citation patterns of book chapters follow a Lotkaian distribution. This paper describes the structure of the Book Citation Index using ‘heliocentric clockwise maps’ which allow the reader not only to determine the grade of similarity of a given academic publisher indexed in the Book Citation Index with a specific discipline according to their citation distribution, but also to easily observe the general structure of a discipline, identifying the publishers with higher impact and output.This research was sponsored by the Spanish Board for Science and Technology (MICINN) under grant TIN2010- 15157 co financed with European FEDER funds

A Scientometric Study of Information Systems Conferences: Exploring ICIS, PACIS and ASAC

This study examines one dimension of the evolution of the information systems (IS) field through a scientometric study of three major global, regional and national conferences: ICIS, PACIS and ASAC. The findings suggest that IS has matured and diversified over the years, since the number of publications and the average number of collaborators per publication have been growing. Using well-established scientometric laws the study further demonstrates that the productivity distribution of researchers in the IS field is in line with what is expected from an established domain with some noticeable characteristics. Implications for IS research are suggested

Publishing practices and the role of publication in the work of academics in the mathematics education research community in England

This thesis explores the publishing practices of the mathematics education research\ud community in England with the aim of better understanding the ways in which\ud education research is shaped by its social, institutional and political context. This is of\ud vital importance in debates about its goals, nature and future, particularly at a time of\ud rapid change in the higher education sector, with changing funding patterns, a drive for\ud research 'impact' and the association of publication with accountability through the\ud Research Assessment Exercise and the Research Excellence Framework.\ud Mathematics education research is explored on three levels: as a field, following\ud Bourdieu; through its external relations with other areas of research, with institutions,\ud government and society; and through the sense-making of individuals who are part of it.\ud The focus on publications cuts an analytical cross-section/seam across these three levels\ud since publication is intimately bound up in both internal and external struggles.\ud Interviews with academics and social network analysis of publication data are brought\ud together through an analysis of existing literature which examines the autonomy,\ud boundaries, entry conditions and doxa of mathematics education research as a field.\ud Semi-structured interviews with nine academics at English universities were used to\ud reconstruct some of the narrative resources drawn on in making sense of publishing\ud practices. These suggest that positive narratives around the value of publication to the\ud research field itself are lacking. This finding is I inked to the nature of education\ud research as a field of study connected to professional practice, as well as to the link\ud between publication and accountability. Exploratory social network analysis of\ud publication data from fourteen mathematics education research journals over a ten-year\ud period allowed a structural examination of the patterns that the ties formed by\ud collaboration. This analysis was then linked with interview data on individual\ud positioning within the field, suggesting the varied ways in which similar patterns of\ud collaboration arise.\ud Implications are drawn for mathematics education research in the UK and for the role of\ud publication in social sciences research, particularly in a field of study connected with\ud professional practice

O impacto da biblioteca do conhecimento online (B-on) sobre a utilização e a produção científica portuguesas (2000-2010)

Nos últimos anos, têm sido várias as iniciativas realizadas para promover o acesso universal à Sociedade da Informação e do Conhecimento. Foi neste contexto que, em 2004, a Biblioteca do Conhecimento Online (b-on) foi lançada em Portugal celebrando este ano o seu 10 º aniversário. Com a b-on, tornou-se mais fácil ter acesso ao texto integral de publicações científicas internacionais. Este estudo tem como objetivo apresentar e analisar alguns dos indicadores estatísticos e bibliométricos da produção científica portuguesa relacionando- -os com a b-on. Procurámos conhecer o impacto da b-on quer ao nível da utilização quer ao nível da produção científica. Para tal analisámos o uso dos recursos eletrónicos disponibilizados pela b-on por parte das universidades públicas membros do consórcio, entre 2004 e 2010, tendo escolhido como amostra as cinco universidades com maior número de downloads por FTE (full time equivalent). Analisámos a evolução do número de downloads, os fornecedores de conteúdos mais utilizados, os títulos com maior utilização. Para além dos dados de utilização do consórcio, utilizámos a Web of Science (WoS) a partir da qual identificámos os artigos indexados com afiliação Portuguesa e nas cinco universidades que constituem a nossa amostra entre 2000-2010. Posteriormente, foram identificados os autores com maior número de artigos indexados a quem aplicámos um inquérito por questionário eletrónico sobre o impacto que a b-on tem nas suas práticas de investigação e cujos resultados mostram a relação entre o consumo e a produção científica. Assim, através de uma metodologia quantitativa e bibliométrica, foram identificadas as áreas de pesquisa com o maior número de artigos, revistas científicas com o maior número de artigos publicados, idioma, co-autoria internacional, entre outros. Para além deste levantamento quantitativo, entrevistámos alguns dos principais intervenientes pelo e aquando do aparecimento da b-on ao nível político, operacional e colaborativo. Esta triangulação de métodos permitiu-nos obter uma maior riqueza de dados e, como tal, fazer uma análise mais completa sobre a b-on e o seu impacto junto da comunidade académica e científica nacional. A evolução dos totais globais dos downloads nas universidades estudadas apresentou uma tendência crescente e constante da utilização dos conteúdos eletrónicos. Existe claramente um aumento do consumo dos mesmos por parte da comunidade académica e científica portuguesa, em particular por parte das universidades. Também a produção científica nacional tem crescido nos últimos anos, pelo que se pode concluir que a disponibilidade e o acesso aos recursos eletrónicos contribuem para o aumento da produtividade científica das universidades e que o estudo e a análise do seu uso e produção são essenciais. A b-on é hoje um caso de sucesso e considerada por muitos como um instrumento fundamental no acesso e na produção de conteúdos científicos; The impact of The Online Knowledge Library (b-on) on the usage and Portuguese scientific output (2000-2010) Abstract: In recent years several initiatives have taken place to promote universal access to the Information and Knowledge Society. It was in this context that in 2004 the Online Knowledge Library (b-on) was launched in Portugal celebrating this year its 10th anniversary. With b-on it became easier to get access to full text international scientific publications. This study aims to present and analyse some statistical and bibliometric indicators of the Portuguese scientific output seeking to evaluate its connection with b-on. Our aim was to understand the impact of b-on in terms of usage and scientific output. We analysed the usage of b-on resources by the public universities members of the consortium from 2004 to 2010, and we chose as sample the five universities with more downloads per FTE (full time equivalent). We analyse the evolution of downloads, widely used content suppliers, the favourite titles within total downloads. In addition to the usage data of the consortium, we used the Web of Science (WoS) from which we identified the articles indexed with affiliation in Portugal and in the five Portuguese universities, individually, between 2000 and 2010. Thus, and through a quantitative and bibliometric methodology, we identified the research areas with the largest number of articles, scientific journals with the highest number of published articles, language and international co-authorship, among others. Thereafter, we identified the authors with the largest number of indexed articles and made them a questionnaire about the impact that b-on has on their research patterns and whose results show the relation between consumption and scientific output. Beyond this quantitative analysis, we interviewed some of the key persons responsible for the development of b-on concerning the political, operational and collaborative levels. This triangulation of methods allowed us to obtain a higher data richness and do a more complete analysis of b-on’s impact on the academic and scientific national community. The overall totals for downloads at the studied universities showed a constant growth of the electronic contents usage. Therefore, there is clearly an upward trend in the consumption of scholarly information in electronic form in the Portuguese academic community, especially at the universities We conclude that the availability and access to electronic resources contributes to the increased of the scientific productivity of the universities and that the study and analysis of its use and output are essential. The b-on is a success and considered by many teachers and researchers as a fundamental tool in accessing and producing scientific contents