ERIC Number: EJ834386
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Jan
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1536-6367
EISSN: N/A
Understanding and Assessing: Bibliometrics as a Method of Measuring Interdisciplinarity
Feller, Irwin
Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research and Perspectives, v3 n1 p20-23 Jan 2005
This article presents the author's critique of "Measurement of Central Aspects of Scientific Research: Performance, Interdisciplinarity, Structure," by Anthony F. J. van Raan. The author states that van Raan's article provides an excellent, if tightly compressed, introduction to key findings and innovative methods of the accumulating and impressive body of work van Raan and his collaborators at Leiden University's Centre for Science and Technology Studies have been conducting. The larger body of work, as listed in the extensive references--itself a valuable contribution to those who are users rather than contributors to the bibliometric literature--provides important, empirically well-grounded insights into the dynamics of science and new, administratively tantalizing means of evaluating the performance of research organizations. An unbundling of the article, and obviously of the more extensive treatments of methodologies, data sets, findings, and policy implications on which it is based, leads in several directions. The author states that van Raan's article embodies the longstanding dualism found in the origins of bibliometrics. Methodologically, among its descriptions of several innovative "advanced bibliometric methods," the author highlights the article's account of the mapping of the structure of interdisciplinary research on the basis of "coconcept analysis." This technique extends the construction of scientific networks through the use of cocitation analysis by mapping "the organization of science according to concept." The author notes that changes in the structure of maps may be used to indicate the impact of Research and Development programs. Finally, Feller states that perhaps the most striking (and confirmatory) statement in the article is van Raan's observation that bibliometrics is least useful in measuring the performance of individual researchers, especially those in the social sciences.
Descriptors: Research and Development, Scientific Research, Citation Analysis, Researchers, Interdisciplinary Approach, Bibliometrics, Evaluation Criteria, Evaluation Methods, Measurement, Measurement Techniques, Research Methodology, Periodicals, Comparative Analysis, Evaluation Problems
Psychology Press. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A