A Bibliometric Examination of the Square Root Theory of Scientific Publication Productivity,
Abstract
A postulated model of scientific productivity asserts that half of all scientific papers in a field are contributed by a few highly productive authors numbering approximately the square root of the total of scientific authors. Available data has been examined to judge the validity of the theoretical model on the basis of empirical evidence. Additional data concerning the scientific productivity of physicists, mathematicians, biologists, computer scientists, econometricians, operations researchers, and entomologists suggests that the most productive square root of the total authors produced an average of 25 percent of the total papers. These data bases had scores between 9 percent and 38 percent with one exception - a 57 percent recorded for a university physics department.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA047237
Entities
People
- Russell C. Coile
Organizations
- Center for Naval Analyses