S.E. ROBERTSON and SANDY HENSMAN
The traditional Bradford approach to bibliographic scatter involves ranking journals in order of productivity. It is suggested that this approach should be modified, with a view…
Abstract
The traditional Bradford approach to bibliographic scatter involves ranking journals in order of productivity. It is suggested that this approach should be modified, with a view to answering more directly questions concerning the cost‐effectiveness or cost‐benefit of journal acquisition. Several alternative ranking methods are suggested, and their properties and relationships explored. A test of some of these ideas is described. A collection of journals contributing to a specific subject area were ranked in the various orders, and the relative value of decisions taken on the basis of these rankings was assessed. From a cost‐effectiveness point of view, the Bradford ranking performed substantially worse than the other rankings; but the results appear to be very dependent on the particular journals that contribute to a field.
A.M. WOODWARD and SANDY HENSMAN
It is generally agreed that the scientific review literature is of great value to both the scientific and lay communities. The combination of an overview of the progress of a…
Abstract
It is generally agreed that the scientific review literature is of great value to both the scientific and lay communities. The combination of an overview of the progress of a scientific discipline and the simultaneous evaluation of the more important literature contributing to that development appears to be exceedingly powerful. There are many different types of review ranging from those which are not much more than an annotated bibliography to the seminal, almost monographic, work. Each review, to a variable extent, forms a comprehensive, reasonably up‐to‐date, single source of both didactic and bibliographic information which by its very nature provides an impressive time‐saving tool, particularly for the user searching for information in a somewhat unfamiliar area. Indeed in some disciplines, reviews appear to be used to a greater extent than abstracting and indexing services. The very usefulness of reviews also implies that a great deal of intellectual effort must be put into their production and again this varies considerably, being correlated with the final perceived quality of the review. The investments in intellectual effort may be estimated at 5 million man hours annually and total production costs are conservatively estimated at £65 million annually worldwide.