903 research outputs found
A unified approach to mapping and clustering of bibliometric networks
In the analysis of bibliometric networks, researchers often use mapping and
clustering techniques in a combined fashion. Typically, however, mapping and
clustering techniques that are used together rely on very different ideas and
assumptions. We propose a unified approach to mapping and clustering of
bibliometric networks. We show that the VOS mapping technique and a weighted
and parameterized variant of modularity-based clustering can both be derived
from the same underlying principle. We illustrate our proposed approach by
producing a combined mapping and clustering of the most frequently cited
publications that appeared in the field of information science in the period
1999-2008
A Review of Research on the Kentucky River Ecosystem: Biota and Human Impacts
This report provides information about the water conditions in the Kentucky River Basin, through collection of previous studies
Citation analysis may severely underestimate the impact of clinical research as compared to basic research
Background: Citation analysis has become an important tool for research
performance assessment in the medical sciences. However, different areas of
medical research may have considerably different citation practices, even
within the same medical field. Because of this, it is unclear to what extent
citation-based bibliometric indicators allow for valid comparisons between
research units active in different areas of medical research.
Methodology: A visualization methodology is introduced that reveals
differences in citation practices between medical research areas. The
methodology extracts terms from the titles and abstracts of a large collection
of publications and uses these terms to visualize the structure of a medical
field and to indicate how research areas within this field differ from each
other in their average citation impact.
Results: Visualizations are provided for 32 medical fields, defined based on
journal subject categories in the Web of Science database. The analysis focuses
on three fields. In each of these fields, there turn out to be large
differences in citation practices between research areas. Low-impact research
areas tend to focus on clinical intervention research, while high-impact
research areas are often more oriented on basic and diagnostic research.
Conclusions: Popular bibliometric indicators, such as the h-index and the
impact factor, do not correct for differences in citation practices between
medical fields. These indicators therefore cannot be used to make accurate
between-field comparisons. More sophisticated bibliometric indicators do
correct for field differences but still fail to take into account within-field
heterogeneity in citation practices. As a consequence, the citation impact of
clinical intervention research may be substantially underestimated in
comparison with basic and diagnostic research
Quantifying the long-term influence of scientific publications
We consider the long-term indirect influence of publications on subsequent publications. In particular, we are here interested in long-term scientific influence at the level of disciplines. We present a novel method to quantify the long-term scientific influence of publications, considering both direct and indirect, or higher-order citations. We apply this method to Web of Science data at the level of disciplines. Preliminary results for a specific operationalization of the notion of long-term scientific influence suggest that long-term influence is dominated by a few disciplines: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Basic Life Sciences, and Physics and Material Science.</p
Quantifying the long-term influence of scientific publications
We consider the long-term indirect influence of publications on subsequent publications. In particular, we are here interested in long-term scientific influence at the level of disciplines. We present a novel method to quantify the long-term scientific influence of publications, considering both direct and indirect, or higher-order citations. We apply this method to Web of Science data at the level of disciplines. Preliminary results for a specific operationalization of the notion of long-term scientific influence suggest that long-term influence is dominated by a few disciplines: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Basic Life Sciences, and Physics and Material Science.</p
The Hardness-Intensity Diagram of Cygnus X-3: Revisiting the Radio/X-Ray States
Cygnus X-3 is one of the brightest X-ray and radio sources in the Galaxy, and
is well known for its erratic behaviour in X-rays as well as in the radio,
occasionally producing major radio flares associated with relativistic
ejections. However, even after many years of observations in various wavelength
bands Cyg X-3 still eludes clear physical understanding. Studying different
emission bands simultaneously in microquasars has proved to be a fruitful
approach towards understanding these systems, especially by shedding light on
the accretion disc/jet connection. We continue this legacy by constructing a
hardness-intensity diagram (HID) from archival Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer data
and linking simultaneous radio observations to it. We find that surprisingly
Cyg X-3 sketches a similar shape in the HID to that seen in other transient
black hole X-ray binaries during outburst but with distinct differences.
Together with the results of this analysis and previous studies of Cyg X-3 we
conclude that the X-ray states can be assigned to six distinct states. This
categorization relies heavily on the simultaneous radio observations and we
identify one new X-ray state, the hypersoft state, similar to the ultrasoft
state, which is associated to the quenched radio state during which there is no
or very faint radio emission. Recent observations of GeV flux observed from Cyg
X-3 (Tavani et al. 2009; Fermi LAT Collaboration et al. 2009) during a soft
X-ray and/or radio quenched state at the onset of a major radio flare hint that
a very energetic process is at work during this time, which is also when the
hypersoft X-ray state is observed. In addition, Cyg X-3 shows flaring with a
wide range of hardness.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Comparison of VLBI, TV and traveling clock techniques for time transfer
A three part experiment was conducted to develop and compare time transfer techniques. The experiment consisted of (1) a very long baseline interferometer (VLBI), (2) a high precision portable clock time transfer system between the two sites, and (3) a television time transfer. A comparison of the VLBI and traveling clock shows each technique can perform satisfactorily at the five nsec level. There was a systematic offset of 59 nsec between the two methods, which we attributed to a difference in epochs between VLBI formatter and station clock. The VLBI method had an internal random error of one nsec at the three sigma level for a two day period. Thus, the Mark II system performed well, and VLBI shows promise of being an accurate method of time transfer. The TV system, which had technical problems during the experiment, transferred time with a random error of about 50 nsec
MERLIN observations of relativistic ejections from GRS 1915+105
We present high resolution MERLIN radio images of multiple relativistic
ejections from GRS 1915+105 in 1997 October / November. The observations were
made at a time of complex radio behaviour, corresponding to multiple
optically-thin outbursts and several days of rapid radio flux oscillations. The
radio imaging resolved four major ejection events from the system. As
previously reported from earlier VLA observations of the source, we observe
apparent superluminal motions resulting from intrinsically relativistic motions
of the ejecta. However, our measured proper motions are significantly greater
than those observed on larger angular scales with the VLA. Under the assumption
of an intrinsically symmetric ejection, we can place an upper limit on the
distance to GRS 1915+105 of 11.2 +/- 0.8 kpc. Solutions for the velocities
unambiguously require a higher intrinsic speed by about 0.1c than that derived
from the earlier VLA observations, whilst the angle to the line-of-sight is not
found to be significantly different. At a distance of 11 kpc, we obtain
solutions of v = 0.98 (-0.05,+0.02)c and theta = 66 +/- 2 degrees. The jet also
appears to be curved on a scale which corresponds to a period of around 7 days.
We observe significant evolution of the linear polarisation of the approaching
component, with large rotations in position angle and a general decrease in
fractional polarisation. The power input into the formation of the jet is very
large, >10^38 erg/s at 11 kpc for a pair plasma. If the plasma contains a cold
proton for each electron, then the mass outflow rate, >10^18 g/sec is
comparable to inflow rates previously derived from X-ray spectral fits.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
The substantive and practical significance of citation impact differences between institutions: Guidelines for the analysis of percentiles using effect sizes and confidence intervals
In our chapter we address the statistical analysis of percentiles: How should
the citation impact of institutions be compared? In educational and
psychological testing, percentiles are already used widely as a standard to
evaluate an individual's test scores - intelligence tests for example - by
comparing them with the percentiles of a calibrated sample. Percentiles, or
percentile rank classes, are also a very suitable method for bibliometrics to
normalize citations of publications in terms of the subject category and the
publication year and, unlike the mean-based indicators (the relative citation
rates), percentiles are scarcely affected by skewed distributions of citations.
The percentile of a certain publication provides information about the citation
impact this publication has achieved in comparison to other similar
publications in the same subject category and publication year. Analyses of
percentiles, however, have not always been presented in the most effective and
meaningful way. New APA guidelines (American Psychological Association, 2010)
suggest a lesser emphasis on significance tests and a greater emphasis on the
substantive and practical significance of findings. Drawing on work by Cumming
(2012) we show how examinations of effect sizes (e.g. Cohen's d statistic) and
confidence intervals can lead to a clear understanding of citation impact
differences
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