Supporting Library Research with LibX and Zotero

Abstract

Two open source extensions to the Firefox browser, LibX and Zotero, can improve the research process for library staff and users. Once configured and installed, LibX provides Firefox users with an additional browser toolbar and right-click functionality that can search a library's catalog, OpenURL resolver or federated search engine, as well as other Web sites. LibX also includes an autolinking feature, which embeds searchable links within other Web sites such as Google, Amazon, or Yahoo. Zotero merges the best features of other citation management programs with those of popular Web 2.0 services. Zotero users can store full citation information and sort, tag, annotate, and search these citations from within the Firefox browser. Zotero can also “scrape” citations from certain Web sites, allowing users to selectively save citations into their research collection. Zotero can generate complete bibliographies in MLA, APA, and Chicago styles. The abilities to remotely store, synchronize, and share Zotero collections are under development with a planned release date in fall 2007.     

An empirical approach based on quantile regression for estimating citation ageing

An aspect of citation behavior, which has received longstanding attention in research, is how articles’ received citations evolve as time passes since their publication (i.e., citation ageing). Citation ageing has been studied mainly by the formulation and fit of mathematical models of diverse complexity. Commonly, these models restrict the shape of citation ageing functions and explicitly take into account factors known to influence citation ageing. An alternative—and less studied—approach is to estimate citation ageing functions using data-driven strategies. However, research following the latter approach has not been consistent in taking into account those factors known to influence citation ageing. In this article, we propose a model-free approach for estimating citation ageing functions which combines quantile regression with a non-parametric specification able to capture citation inflation. The proposed strategy allows taking into account field of research effects, impact level effects, citation inflation effects and skewness in the distribution of cites effects. To test our methodology, we collected a large dataset consisting of more than five million citations to 59,707 research articles spanning 12 dissimilar fields of research and, with this data in hand, tested the proposed strategy.     

Quantifying the structural and temporal characteristics of negative links in signed citation networks

Although the citation relationships among papers can help in tracking and understanding the development of knowledge, few studies have noted that the content and sentiments of citations of a paper differ. Here, we use sentiment-labeled citation data to construct a directed signed citation network, in which an author may agree with or criticize the cited paper and these represent different ways of inheriting knowledge. The dataset we use consists of 9,038 papers in the field of Computational Linguistics, including 25,275 citations, with 20.8% positive citations, 8.6% negative citations and 70.6% neutral citations. We systematically quantify the structural patterns of negative citations, impact assortativity of involved papers, occurrence time distribution and consequences of receiving negative attention. Remarkably, we find that papers with different impacts have a similar probability of receiving negative citations, and highly cited papers tend to give negative citations to low-impact papers around but avoid giving negative citations to high-impact papers. Our research also reveals the random occurrence rules and colocation patterns of negative citation distribution. In addition, we show that, in the short term, around 60% of multiple negative citations is positively related to the impact of the cited paper while more than 80% are negatively related to the impact in the long run. Our findings explain the pattern by which negative citations occur and deepen the understanding of negative citations.     

An emerging paradigm or just another trajectory? Understanding the nature of technological changes using engineering heuristics in the telecommunications switching industry

The theoretical literature on technological changes distinguishes between paradigmatic changes and changes in trajectories. Recently several scholars have performed empirical studies on the way technological trajectories evolve in specific industries, often by predominantly looking at the artifacts. Much less - if any - empirical work has been done on paradigmatic changes, even though these have a much more profound impact on today's industry. It follows from the theory that such studies would need to focus more on the knowledge level than on the artifact level, raising questions on how to operationalize such phenomena. This study aims to fill this gap by applying network-based methodologies to knowledge networks, represented here by patents and patent citations. The rich technological history of telecommunications switches shows how engineers in the post-war period were confronted with huge challenges to meet drastically changing demands. This historical background is a starting point for an in-depth analysis of patents, in search of information about technological direction, technical bottlenecks, and engineering heuristics. We aim to identify when such changes took place over the seven different generations of technological advances this industry has seen. In this way we can easily recognize genuine paradigmatic changes compared to more regular changes in trajectory.     

How do foreign firms patent in emerging economies with weak appropriability regimes? Archetypes and motives

Foreign firms patent in emerging economies with weak appropriability regimes at an increasing rate. This phenomenon constitutes a paradox since in such a setting foreign firms should have weak incentives to patent. In an attempt to resolve this paradox, we conducted an inductive analysis of 11 foreign firms that patent in such a setting, using the case of China as our empirical context. We identify four archetypes of foreign firms and three key antecedents the interaction of which determines which archetype a firm can be subsumed under.Our study complements the developed-economy focus of the extant appropriation literature by adding an international perspective. We extend previous econometric studies by identifying salient factors on the firm level that determine the extent to which a foreign firm patents in emerging economies with a weak appropriability regime, highlighting that the extent of a firm's motivation to maintain its freedom to operate can supersede imitability concerns. We also comment on the practical implications of these contributions for managers of foreign firms. Highlighting a structural conflict of interest between foreign firms from developed economies and the development goals of an emerging economy, we point to the generalizability of our results to a wide range of other emerging economies worldwide.     

高技术产业技术标准联盟对产业推动作用的实证研究——以Wi-Fi联盟为例

分析并总结了技术标准联盟对高技术产业发展的促进机理,以Wi-Fi联盟为例,分析了Wi-Fi联盟对技术、产品、市场、产业的推动作用,并使用社会网络分析(Social Network Analysis,SNA)方法分析了联盟内部的合作关系与网络特征,阐述了Wi-Fi联盟如何通过内部分工与合作促进产业链的形成,通过产品认证的方式打造与推行事实标准,以及利用发展新成员、广泛开展与其它标准联盟的合作的方式扩大应用领域和市场空间,最终推动了无线通信产业的迅速发展。在这一分析过程中,总结并提炼的国际技术标准联盟所具有的特性,对于我国的技术标准联盟在合作伙伴选择、产业链构建、联盟标准推广等关键问题上具有一定的参考意义。     

专利权质押贷款与保险结合的探索

专利权质押贷款业务发展至今虽然取得了一些成效,但离真正市场化运行仍有一定差距,究其原因主要是相关风险没有得到有效控制,相关机构参与的积极性不高.如果能够将专利权质押贷款与科技保险业务结合,则能够分散参与各方的风险,促进该业务走上市场化的健康发展道路.     

高校专利工作业绩评估实证研究

本文在对国内外有关专利评估文献进行调研的基础上,通过对知识产权领域专家学者的多次咨询,设计了一套比较完善的高校专利工作业绩评估指标体系。在此基础上,运用主成分分析方法对某市5所高校的专利工作业绩进行了实证研究。     

Patent claims and patent scope

Patent scope is one of the important aspects in the debates over “patent quality.” The purported decrease in patent quality over the last decade or two has supposedly led to granting patents of increased breadth, decreased clarity, and questionable validity (in part due to over-breadth). Such patents allegedly diminish the incentives for innovation due to increased transaction costs in the market for technology, more frequent disputes and litigation, trolling behavior, and breakdowns in bargaining. This paper focuses on the patent examination process at the PTO, highlighting the relationship between patent scope and the patent examination process. We develop and validate two measurements of patent scope: independent claim length and independent claim count. These metrics—in contrast to other measurements of patent scope—can be calculated before and after examination and enable us to provide the first large-scale analysis of trends in patent scope changes during the examination process. Our results show that applications with narrower scope are associated with a higher probability of grant and a shorter and less intense examination period in comparison to applications with broader scope. Further, we find that the examination process itself tends to narrow the scope of patents relative to the scope at filing, and that the changes are more significant when the duration and intensity of examination is increased. We explain our metrics and make our data available in a public use dataset, which we hope will encourage more research in the evaluation of patent scope, patent examination, and patent quality more broadly.     

上海市技术比较优势及其演变分析——基于上海市职务发明专利申请的统计分析

上海市是我国发明专利申请最活跃和技术创新能力最强的城市之一,充分发挥其技术比较优势,不仅有利于其进一步提升技术创新能力,而且也有利于其代表我国在全球科技竞争中占据制高点。本文在对上海职务发明专利申请进行分技术领域统计的基础上,首先对上海职务发明专利申请态势、技术领域分布及其在全国中的地位进行了分析,其次根据其不同技术领域的显性技术比较优势指数,对其技术比较优势及演变进行了研究,最后对上述分析结果的公共政策含义进行了初步探讨。