Growth of journals,articles and authors in malaria research

In the present study we have tried to trace the growth of malaria research at Global Level and the distribution of articles in various journals for the period 1955–2005. The data have been extracted from a database, which has been developed in-house from MEDLINE, SCI, TDB, Ovid Heath Information and Indian Science Abstracts. Study indicates that the exponential model fits the data on journals, articles and authors. The R² value for the trend for journals, articles, and authors are 0.9502, 0.9475, and 0.9651, respectively. The growth rates for journals, articles and authors are 5.31%, 7.38%, and 10.06%, respectively. The linear multiple regression equation that Articles = ?39.2771 + 3.61719*journals + 0.085882*Authors (R² = 99.16%) is most meaningful and it may be used to estimate the articles for given numbers of journals and authors.     

“I did not realize so many options are available”: Cognitive authority,emerging adults,and e-mental health

Approximately one in five people in developed countries such as Canada and Australia will experience mental illness during their lifespan, and this statistic may be even higher for people between the ages of 18 and 25. Due to widespread stigma and other issues, access to mental health care is limited. However, given the heavy online use by people in this age range as well as the prevalence of existing online health information, it is possible that “e-mental health,” when delivered in an efficacious and engaging format, could be a viable dissemination option. A quantitative and qualitative online survey was distributed to university students in order to determine their opinions of currently available e-mental health resources. Within the sample (n = 1308), text-based searching on Web sites such as Google as well as reading informational Web sites were the most highly preferred and utilized methods. However, a significant knowledge gap regarding the existence of other e-mental health formats was noted. Suggestions for future research include search engine optimization changes and continued development of e-mental health resources.     

A mathematical characterization of the Hirsch-index by means of minimal increments

The minimum configuration to have a h-index equal to h is h papers each having h citations, hence h² citations in total. To increase the h-index to h + 1 we minimally need (h + 1)² citations, an increment of I₁(h) = 2h + 1. The latter number increases with 2 per unit increase of h. This increment of the second order is denoted I₂(h) = 2.If we define I₁ and I₂ for a general Hirsch configuration (say n papers each having f(n) citations) we calculate I₁(f) and I₂(f) similarly as for the h-index. We characterize all functions f for which I₂(f) = 2 and show that this can be obtained for functions f(n) different from the h-index. We show that f(n) = n (i.e. the h-index) if and only if I₂(f) = 2, f(1) = 1 and f(2) = 2.We give a similar characterization for the threshold index (where n papers have a constant number C of citations). Here we deal with second order increments I₂(f) = 0.     

A refinement of Egghe's increment studies

In this contribution we show how results obtained in a series of papers by Egghe can be refined in the sense that we need fewer additional conditions. In these articles Egghe considered a general h-type index which has a value n if n is the largest natural number such that the first n publications (ranked according to the number of received citations) have received at least f(n) citations, with f(n) any increasing function defined on the strictly positive numbers. His results deal with increments I₂ and I₁ defined by: I₂(n) = I₁(n + 1) − I₁(n) where I₁(n) = (n + 1)f(n + 1) − nf(n). Our results differ from Egghe's because we also consider I_k(0), k = 1,2. We, moreover, provide a non-recursive definition of the increment functions I_k(n).     

Distributions of citations of papers of individual authors publishing in different scientific disciplines: Application of Langmuir-type function

The distribution of cumulative citations L and contributed citations L_f to individual multiauthored papers published by selected authors working in different scientific disciplines is analyzed and discussed using Langmuir-type function: y_n = y₀[1 − αKn/(1 + Kn)], where y_n denotes the total number of normalized cumulative citations l_n* and normalized contributed citations l_nf* received by individual papers of rank n, y₀ is the maximum value of y_n when n = 0, α ≥ 1 is an effectiveness parameter, and K is the Langmuir constant related to the dimensionless differential energy Q = ln(KN_c), with N_c as the number of papers receiving citations. Relationships between the values of the Langmuir constant K of the distribution function, the number N_c of papers of an individual author receiving citations and the effectiveness parameter α of this function, obtained from analysis of the data of rank-size distributions of the authors, are investigated. It was found that: (1) the quantity KN_c obtained from the real citation distribution of papers of various authors working in different disciplines is inversely proportional to (α − 1) with a proportional constant (KN_c)₀ < 1, (2) the relation KN_c = (KN_c)₀/(α − 1) also holds for the citation distribution of journals published in countries of two different groups, investigated earlier (Sangwal, K. (2013). Journal of Informetrics, 7, 487–504), and (3) deviations of the real citation distribution from curves predicted by the Langmuir-type function are associated with changing activity of sources of generation of items (citations).     

Citation and impact factor distributions of scientific journals published in individual countries

The distributions of citations L, two- (IF2) and five-year impact factors (IF5), and citation half-lives λ of journals published in different selected countries are analyzed using Langmuir-type relation: y_n = y₀ {1 ? αKn/(1 + Kn)}, where y_n denotes L_n, IF2_n or IF5_n of n-ranked journal, y₀ is the value of y_n when journal rank n = 0, α is an empirical effectiveness parameter, and K is the Langmuir constant. It was found that: (1) the general features of the distribution of L_n, IF2_n or IF5_n of the journals published in different individual countries are similar to the results obtained before by the author from the analysis of the citation distribution data of papers of individual authors (K. Sangwal, Journal of Informetrics 7 (2013) 36–49), (2) in contrast to the theoretically expected value of the effectiveness parameter α = 1, the calculated values of α > 1 for journals published in different countries, (3) the trends of the distribution of cited half-lives λ_n of journals differ from those of L_n, IF2_n and IF5_n data for different countries, and show one, two or three linear regions, the longest linear regions with low slopes are observed in the case of countries publishing relatively high number of journals, and (4) the product of the Langmuir constant K and the number N of journals for the processes of citations and two- and five-year impact factors of journals published in different countries is constant for a process. The results suggest that: (1) the values of α > 1 are associated with a process that retards the generation of items (i.e. citations or impact factors), the difference (α ? 1) being related to the dissemination of contents of the journals published by a country, and (2) the constancy of KN is related to the publication potential of a country.     

Comparative rank assessment of journal articles

To take into account the impact of the different bibliometric features of scientific fields and different size of both the publication set evaluated and the set used as reference standard, two new impact indicators are introduced. The Percentage Rank Position (PRP) indicator relates the ordinal rank position of the article assessed to the total number of papers in the publishing journal. The publications in the publishing journal are ranked by the decreasing citation frequency. The Relative Elite Rate (RER) indicator relates the number of citations obtained by the article assessed to the mean citation rate of the papers in the elite set of the publishing journal. The indices can be preferably calculated from the data of the publications in the elite set of journal papers of individuals, teams, institutes or countries. The number of papers in the elite set is calculated by the equation: P(π_v) = (10 log P) ? 10, where P is the total number of papers. The mean of the PRP and RER indicators of the journal papers assessed may be applied for comparing the eminence of publication sets across fields.     

The problem of citation impact assessments for recent publication years in institutional evaluations

Bibliometrics has become an indispensable tool in the evaluation of institutions (in the natural and life sciences). An evaluation report without bibliometric data has become a rarity. However, evaluations are often required to measure the citation impact of publications in very recent years in particular. As a citation analysis is only meaningful for publications for which a citation window of at least three years is guaranteed, very recent years cannot (should not) be included in the analysis. This study presents various options for dealing with this problem in statistical analysis. The publications from two universities from 2000 to 2011 are used as a sample dataset (n = 2652, univ 1 = 1484 and univ 2 = 1168). One option is to show the citation impact data (percentiles) in a graphic and to use a line for percentiles regressed on ‘distant’ publication years (with confidence interval) showing the trend for the ‘very recent’ publication years. Another way of dealing with the problem is to work with the concept of samples and populations. The third option (very related to the second) is the application of the counterfactual concept of causality.     

Comparison of different mathematical functions for the analysis of citation distribution of papers of individual authors

The citation distribution of papers of selected individual authors was analyzed using five mathematical functions: power-law, stretched exponential, logarithmic, binomial and Langmuir-type. The former two functions have previously been proposed in the literature whereas the remaining three are novel and are derived following the concepts of growth kinetics of crystals in the presence of additives which act as inhibitors of growth. Analysis of the data of citation distribution of papers of the authors revealed that the value of the goodness-of-the-fit parameter R² was the highest for the empirical binomial relation, it was high and comparable for stretched exponential and Langmuir-type functions, relatively low for power law but it was the lowest for the logarithmic function. In the Langmuir-type function a parameter K, defined as Langmuir constant, characterizing the citation behavior of the authors has been identified. Based on the Langmuir-type function an expression for cumulative citations L relating the extrapolated value of citations l₀ corresponding to rank n = 0 for an author and his/her constant K and the number N of paper receiving citation l ≥ 1 is also proposed.     

Copyright Awareness,Partnerships, and Training Issues in Academic Libraries

This article reports on the results of a national survey of academic librarians and library staff (N = 226) in the United States about their awareness of various copyright policies, partnerships with campus groups to address copyright issues, and training needs. A majority of the survey respondents reported that they have answered copyright-related questions in the workplace, yet only 49% (n = 98) of the respondents perceived they were prepared to provide copyright information to library users. Awareness of various copyright policies among librarians and staff members varied, including a reported minimal awareness of the T.E.A.C.H. Act. In addition, survey respondents expressed the desire for more copyright-related training. In light of these findings, the present study extends the existing literature and offers recommendations to help better prepare a “copyright confident” or “copyright responsive” academic library workforce.     

Efficiency,unused capacity and transmission power as indicators of the Triple Helix of university–industry–government relationships

In this paper, we show that an information source composed with n random variables may be split into 2ⁿ or 2ⁿ − 1 “states”; therefore, one could compute the maximum entropy of the source. We derive the efficiency and the unused capacity of an information source. We demonstrate that in more than two dimensions, the transmission's variability depends on the system configuration; thus, we determine the upper and the lower bounds to the mutual information and propose the transmission power as an indicator of the Triple Helix of university–industry–government relationships. The transmission power is defined as the fraction of the total ‘configurational information’ produced in a system; it appears like the efficiency of the transmission and may be interpreted as the strength of the variables dependency, the strength of the synergy between the system's variable or the strength of information flow within the system.     

Convergent validity of bibliometric Google Scholar data in the field of chemistry—Citation counts for papers that were accepted by Angewandte Chemie International Edition or rejected but published elsewhere,using Google Scholar,Science Citation Index,Scopus, and Chemical Abstracts

Examining a comprehensive set of papers (n = 1837) that were accepted for publication by the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition (one of the prime chemistry journals in the world) or rejected by the journal but then published elsewhere, this study tested the extent to which the use of the freely available database Google Scholar (GS) can be expected to yield valid citation counts in the field of chemistry. Analyses of citations for the set of papers returned by three fee-based databases – Science Citation Index, Scopus, and Chemical Abstracts – were compared to the analysis of citations found using GS data. Whereas the analyses using citations returned by the three fee-based databases show very similar results, the results of the analysis using GS citation data differed greatly from the findings using citations from the fee-based databases. Our study therefore supports, on the one hand, the convergent validity of citation analyses based on data from the fee-based databases and, on the other hand, the lack of convergent validity of the citation analysis based on the GS data.     

A case study of the arbitrariness of the h-index and the highly-cited-publications indicator

The arbitrariness of the h-index becomes evident, when one requires q × h instead of h citations as the threshold for the definition of the index, thus changing the size of the core of the most influential publications of a dataset. I analyze the citation records of 26 physicists in order to determine how much the prefactor q influences the ranking. Likewise, the arbitrariness of the highly-cited-publications indicator is due to the threshold value, given either as an absolute number of citations or as a percentage of highly cited papers. The analysis of the 26 citation records shows that the changes in the rankings in dependence on these thresholds are rather large and comparable with the respective changes for the h-index.     

Equitable access: Information seeking behavior,information needs,and necessary library accommodations for transgender patrons

This study highlights the unique accommodations integral to welcoming transgender library patrons. Research shows transgender people have unique needs which differ from lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) individuals, and experience substantial barriers to obtaining quality library service. Most studies in the past exploring the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender library users focused exclusively on LGBQ users. This study surveyed adult transgender individuals (n = 102) with an online questionnaire. The majority of participants were white, designated female at birth, and under 40 years old. Survey respondents needed libraries to make accommodations for them to feel safe (p < 0.001). The top 5 accommodations needed were recent transgender literature, gender identity or expression as part of library nondiscrimination policy, gender neutral, single-stall bathrooms where a key did not need to be requested, recent LGBQ literature), and an established remote process for name change.     

Real and rational variants of the h-index and the g-index

The definitions of the rational and real-valued variants of the h-index and g-index are reviewed. It is shown how they can be obtained both graphically and by calculation. Formulae are derived expressing the exact relations between the h-variants and between the g-variants. Subsequently these relations are examined. In a citation context the real h-index is often, but not always, smaller than the rational h-index. It is also shown that the relation between the real and the rational g-index depends on the number of citations of the article ranked g + 1. Maximum differences between h, h_r and h_rat on the one hand and between g, g_r and g_rat on the other are determined.     

Correlation between variables subject to an order restriction,with application to scientometric indices

Variables subject to an order restriction, for instance Y ≤ X, have a bivariate distribution over a non-rectangular joint domain that entails a non-null and potentially large structural relation even if the variables show no association (in the sense that particular ranges of values of X do not co-occur with particular ranges of values of Y). Order restrictions affect a number of scientometric indices (including the h index and its variants) that are routinely subjected to correlational analyses to assess whether they provide redundant information, but these correlations are contaminated by the structural relation. This paper proposes an alternative definition of association between variables subject to an order restriction that eliminates their structural relation and reverts to the conventional definition when applied to variables that are not subject to order restrictions. This alternative definition is illustrated in a number of theoretical cases and it is also applied to empirical data involving scientometric indices subject to an order restriction. A test statistic is also derived which allows testing for the significance of an association between variables subject to an order restriction.     

An investigation of user perceptions and behavioral intentions towards the e-library

The purpose of this paper is to explore the understanding of e-library usage and e-library acceptance behaviors. In this paper, we use the technology acceptance model (TAM) and flow theory as theoretical frameworks in order to propose a new model for explaining users' intentions to cont'inue using the e-library. The sample for this study consisted of Korean elementary students that use an e-library system (booktobi). Booktobi, which was established in 2005 in Korea, is the earliest and most famous e-library for elementary school students in Korea. The data for this study were gathered in February 2009 by means of a paper-and-pencil survey. In total, 541 students participated in the study, and a total of 395 students completed the survey, resulting in a response rate of 73%. Of the 395 participating students, 192 were male and 203 were female. With respect to age and education, most of the participating subjects were between 11 and 13 years old. The participants had approximately six to seven years of computer and Internet experience and reported spending an average of 1 to 4 hours on the computer and/or Internet every day. In terms of their usage tendencies, 34% of respondents chose gaming, 29% chose chat-rooms, 19% chose Web browsing, 13% chose e-mail, and 5% chose downloading.The results of this study indicate four major findings. First, interface characteristics (in terms of terminology, screen design, and navigation) can indirectly influence the perceived usefulness via the perceived ease of e-library system use. Second, system characteristics (in terms of relevance and system quality) can directly influence the perceived usefulness of e-library systems. Three, system quality can positively influence both perceived usefulness and the perceived ease of e-library system use. Finally, the total influence of the perceived ease of use can be singled out as a primary determinant of behavioral intention. Although smaller in magnitude, the significant effect of system quality on perceived usefulness suggests that by improving the fit between e-library systems and user information needs, we cannot only generate positive perceptions about the usefulness of e-libraries but also about the ease of their use. These findings highlight the importance of e-library system characteristics and, in particular, system quality.     

Displacement or complementarity? Assessing the relationship between social media and public library usage in the U.S., South Korea,and Singapore

The relevancy of public libraries is often called into question, with some saying that library services have been or will be displaced by, among other things, new media such as social media. This study tested this displacement hypothesis with survey data collected from three nations (the U.S.: N = 879; South Korea: N = 700; and Singapore: N = 987). Ordinal regressions were used to investigate the relationship between the use of social media and nine public library services, taking into account individual demographic differences. The results show that for all three nations, social media use has significant complementary relationships with all nine library services examined. Computer and information literacy training showed the largest effect size. However, signs of displacement effects were observed in the odds ratio statistics, particularly among daily social media users and in reference services, library visits, and time spent in the library, suggesting that where displacement is concerned, these areas warrant extra attention.     

The citation speed index: A useful bibliometric indicator to add to the h index

The scientific impact of a publication can be determined not only based on the number of times it is cited but also based on the citation speed with which its content is noted by the scientific community. Here we present the citation speed index as a meaningful complement to the h index: whereas for the calculation of the h index the impact of publications is based on number of citations, for the calculation of the speed index it is the number of months that have elapsed since the first citation, the citation speed with which the results of publications find reception in the scientific community. The speed index is defined as follows: a group of papers has the index s if for s of its N_p papers the first citation was at least s months ago, and for the other (N_p ? s) papers the first citation was ≤s months ago.     

Including cited non-source items in a large-scale map of science: What difference does it make?

Cited non-source documents such as articles from regional journals, conference papers, books and book chapters, working papers and reports have begun to attract more attention in the literature. Most of this attention has been directed at understanding the effects of including non-source items in research evaluation. In contrast, little work has been done to examine the effects of including non-source items on science maps and on the structure of science as reflected by those maps. In this study we compare two direct citation maps of a 16-year set of Scopus documents – one that includes only source documents, and one that includes non-source documents along with the source documents. In addition to more than doubling the contents of the map, from 19 M to 43 M documents, the inclusion of non-source items strongly augments the social sciences relative to the natural sciences and medicine and makes their position in the map more central. Books are also found to play a significant role in the map, and are much more highly cited on average than articles.