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A cautionary bibliometric tale of two cities

Author

Listed:
  • G. E. Derrick

    (The University of Sydney)

  • H. Sturk

    (University of Queensland)

  • A. S. Haynes

    (The University of Sydney)

  • S. Chapman

    (The University of Sydney)

  • W. D. Hall

    (University of Queensland)

Abstract

Reliability of citation searches is a cornerstone of bibliometric research. The authors compare simultaneous search returns at two sites to demonstrate discrepancies that can occur as a result of differences in institutional subscriptions to the Web of Science and Web of Knowledge. Such discrepancies may have significant implications for the reliability of bibliometric research in general, but also for the calculation of individual and group indices used for promotion and funding decisions. The authors caution care when describing the methods used in bibliometric analysis and when evaluating researchers from different institutions. In both situations a description of the specific databases used would enable greater reliability.

Suggested Citation

  • G. E. Derrick & H. Sturk & A. S. Haynes & S. Chapman & W. D. Hall, 2010. "A cautionary bibliometric tale of two cities," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 84(2), pages 317-320, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:84:y:2010:i:2:d:10.1007_s11192-009-0118-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-009-0118-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chun-Ting Zhang, 2009. "The e-Index, Complementing the h-Index for Excess Citations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(5), pages 1-4, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Petr Heneberg, 2013. "Lifting the fog of scientometric research artifacts: On the scientometric analysis of environmental tobacco smoke research," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 64(2), pages 334-344, February.
    2. Fedderke, J.W. & Goldschmidt, M., 2015. "Does massive funding support of researchers work?: Evaluating the impact of the South African research chair funding initiative," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 467-482.
    3. J. W. Fedderke, 2013. "The objectivity of national research foundation peer review in South Africa assessed against bibliometric indexes," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 97(2), pages 177-206, November.
    4. Michael Gowanlock & Rich Gazan, 2013. "Assessing researcher interdisciplinarity: a case study of the University of Hawaii NASA Astrobiology Institute," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 94(1), pages 133-161, January.
    5. Ricardo Cartes-Velásquez & Carlos Manterola Delgado, 2014. "Bibliometric analysis of articles published in ISI dental journals, 2007–2011," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 98(3), pages 2223-2233, March.

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