M. Carl Drott, Jacqueline C. Mancall and Belver C. Griffith
Bradford's Law is presented as an observation made from the outcome of searching, rather than a mathematical development. The organization and presentation of search data is…
Abstract
Bradford's Law is presented as an observation made from the outcome of searching, rather than a mathematical development. The organization and presentation of search data is explained. Potential applications of Bradford's Law are discussed. New findings are presented which show the relationship described by Bradford's Law to be fundamentally important but in a more subtle way than previously supposed. Future developments are suggested in terms of their impact on librarianship.
HOWARD D. WHITE and BELVER C. GRIFFITH
Interrelations of writings in a complex field such as studies of science, technology and society, turn out to be highly patterned when data on author co‐citations are…
Abstract
Interrelations of writings in a complex field such as studies of science, technology and society, turn out to be highly patterned when data on author co‐citations are statistically analysed and mapped. For both authors and specialities, the maps reveal structures of subject matter and intellectual impact, based on the perceptions of hundreds of citers since 1972. A new tool thus is available to historians and others concerned with a field's intellectual development.
M. Carl Drott, Toni Carbo Bearman and Belver C. Griffith
A study of 266 little‐known technical house journals in the US, UK and France is described. Methods of journal selection, location, and bibliographic control are discussed. A…
Abstract
A study of 266 little‐known technical house journals in the US, UK and France is described. Methods of journal selection, location, and bibliographic control are discussed. A sample of technical articles from the journals was searched in abstracting and indexing services to determine their coverage and the extent to which such materials are prepublished or republished in standard periodicals. It was found that, although there are a significant number of technical articles published in house journals, the coverage of this literature in secondary sources is very low, and the literature is rarely included in standard periodicals.
I feel compelled to present this lecture by some of the strongest of intellectual needs, namely to establish the relationship of my own work and interests to those of other…
Abstract
I feel compelled to present this lecture by some of the strongest of intellectual needs, namely to establish the relationship of my own work and interests to those of other disciplines. Some terrors lie in the revealing of the character of that work, however, particularly the fact that it combines extremes of nitpicking and speculativeness. Special terrors lie in the realization that formidable intellectual disciplines are on a collision path with that work.
BELVER C. GRIFFITH, PATRICIA N. SERVI, ANITA L. ANKER and M. CARL DROTT
Scientific writings age; individual documents, issues or volumes of scientific journals are, eventually, less valued and less used with the passage of time. Long periods of time…
Abstract
Scientific writings age; individual documents, issues or volumes of scientific journals are, eventually, less valued and less used with the passage of time. Long periods of time, say more than several decades, render portions of the literature obsolete, and ‘aging’ is evident. However, controversy has developed recently about quantitative models, particularly Brookes, which proposes a systematic exponential aging process for the corpus of library periodical holdings. In disagreement with these models, Sandison presents use patterns showing no aging; and Line points to methodological difficulties in demonstrating aging. Both the models, and the questions raised regarding their validity are of considerable interest and importance to our understanding of the nature of scientific information and the management of collections. We show, here, that citation data conform well to the Brookes model, but the chief findings regard the nature of the aging process and its apparent range within scientific literatures. A scientific journal which is used as an archive ages slowly; one which supports a research front ages quickly. Aging depends not merely on the material itself, but its user, and a single journal may be aged very differently by different user communities. Lastly, aging rates vary among journals, and it is relatively easy to identify journals which age at about the rate at which the literature grows and journals which appear to exhaust most of their utility within a few years.
It is possible to say that an expert in any field of knowledge can be expected to know particular things and techniques. This can be said of a stone mason, a physicist or a…
Abstract
It is possible to say that an expert in any field of knowledge can be expected to know particular things and techniques. This can be said of a stone mason, a physicist or a midwife. The expertise consists of a notional core of knowledge and skills (i.e. applied knowledge). Such expertise arguably can be found in other experts in the same field, although there will be idiosyncrasies of approach and valuation and quite probably divergencies in what is considered “right” and “wrong”.
All items listed may be borrowed from the Aslib Library, except those marked, which may be consulted in the Library.
Citation analysis for the purposes of this survey is taken to mean the analysis of the citations or references which form part of the scholarly apparatus of primary communication…
Abstract
Citation analysis for the purposes of this survey is taken to mean the analysis of the citations or references which form part of the scholarly apparatus of primary communication. It is not taken to include study of the references appearing in secondary (abstracting or indexing) services, in subject bibliographies, or in lists or catalogues of the holdings or issues of libraries, although analysis of these latter sources of data can sometimes provide similar information to that derived from citations in the primary literature. The essence of the distinction is that citation in the primary literature expressly states a connection between two documents, one which cites and the other which is cited, whereas citation in other listings does not usually imply any connection between documents other than that effected by the indexing machinery. If libraries kept records of the materials requested, borrowed, or read by their individual users, and if these records could be synthesised so as to produce complete borrowing or reading lists for individuals (taking account, that is, of document acquisition by individuals from a number of sources), then the resultant data could be used for analytical purposes in the same way as citation data from primary publication and with much the same justification.
Ellen D. Sutton, Richard Feinberg, Cynthia R. Levine, Jennie S. Sandberg and Janice M. Wilson
Academic librarians are frequently called upon to provide instruction in relatively unfamiliar disciplines. This article presents introductory information for librarians providing…
Abstract
Academic librarians are frequently called upon to provide instruction in relatively unfamiliar disciplines. This article presents introductory information for librarians providing bibliographic instruction (BI) in the field of psychology. Its primary purpose is to identify key readings from the library science and psychology literature that provide a basis for informed delivery of psychology BI. These works are fully identified in the list of references at the end of this article. Because the primary purpose of discipline‐specific bibliographic instruction is to teach the skills necessary for retrieval of the products of scholarship in that discipline, we begin with a discussion of scholarly communication and documentation, which describes how scholars and researchers within psychology communicate research findings and theoretical developments in the discipline. The major emphasis of this article is on formal, group instruction rather than individualized instruction, although much of the information will be applicable to both types.
All items listed may be borrowed from the Aslib Library, except those marked, which may be consulted in the Library.