INFORMETRICS

Prepared bySyed Aamir Abbas

&

Naimatullah ShahMPhil Students

Semester-I (2012-14)

Minhaj University, Lahore.

Informertrics

CONTENTS

• Introduction• Definition• Informetrics : a wider scale application and Measures • Aspects of Informetrics• Informetrics used to / applied to • Interdisciplinary Research Field• Informetric Law’s • Offers New Possibilities for LIS Professionals• Becoming a Scientific Discipline• Extensions / Distribution of Informetrics • References

Informertrics

• Introduction

There is no measurement (i.e meaningful data) without theory and notheory without data.

The term “informetrics (Informetrie “German term”) was introduced byBlackert and Siegel (1979) and by Nacke (1979), to cover that part ofinformation science dealing with the measurement of information phenomena and the application of mathematical methods to the discipline’s problems.

Informetrics was adopted in 1987-88 as the short title for the published conference proceedings.

Informetrics is an emerging subfield in Information Science, based on the combination of quantitative studies of information flows, and advanced information retrieval and texts, and data mining.

Introduction

Informertrics

The use of mathematical and statistical methods in research related to libraries, documentation and information.

Definition of Informetrics

Informertrics

Wider scale application of methods to networked information sources.

Measures of:

. Subject & content Area

. Relationships

. Use and Popularity

Informetrics : a wider scale application and Measures

Informertrics

Aspects of Informetrics

Informetrics is the study of quantitative aspects of information.

This includes :

1) Production

2) Dissemination

3) Use of all forms of information, regardless of its form or origin.

Informertrics

Informetrics is used in or applied to:

Library ManagementThe Sociology of ScienceThe History of ScienceScience PolicyInformation Retrieval

Beneficial for other fields between:

Biometrics.Econometrics.Chemometrics.Quantitative Linguistics and so on.

INFORMETRICS USED / APPLIED TO:

Informertrics

Moreover, we feel that a real interaction between informetrics and biometrics, econometrics, Quantitative linguistics and so on would be very beneficial for all fields involved.

INFORMETRICS USED / APPLIED TO: [Conti…]

Informertrics

LIBRARY MANAGEMENT

Library management is a sub-discipline of institutional management that focuses on specific issues faced by libraries.

Library management involves functions such as Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling.

Planning is about systematically making decisions about the library goals.

Organizing is about assembling and coordinating human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve library goals.

Leading is about functions that involve efforts on the part of the librarian to stimulate high performance by employees.

Controlling about monitoring various library operations and services. These four management functions are highly integrated.

INFORMETRICS USED / APPLIED TO: [Conti…]

Informertrics

THE SOCIOLOGY OF SCIENCE

The sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK) is the study of science as a social activity, especially dealing with "the social conditions and effects of science, and with the social structures and processes of scientific activity.

The field emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s and at first was an almost exclusively British practice.

INFORMETRICS USED / APPLIED TO: [Conti…]

Informertrics

THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

The history of science is the study of the historical development of science and scientific knowledge, including both the natural sciences and social sciences. Until the late 20th century, the history of science, especially of the physical and biological sciences, was seen as a narrative of true theories replacing false ones.

INFORMETRICS USED / APPLIED TO: [Conti…]

Informertrics

Science Policy

Science policy is an area of public policy concerned with the policies that affect the conduct of the science and research enterprise, including the funding of science, often in pursuance of other national policy goals such as technological innovation to promote commercial product development, weapons development, health care and environmental monitoring. Science policy also refers to the act of applying scientific knowledge and consensus to the development of public policies.

INFORMETRICS USED / APPLIED TO: [Conti…]

Informertrics

Information Retrieval

Information retrieval is the activity of obtaining information resources relevant to an information need from a collection of information resources. Searches can be based on metadata or on full-text indexing. Automated information retrieval systems are used to reduce what has been called "information overload". Many universities and public libraries use IR systems to provide access to books, journals and other documents. Web search engines are the most visible IR applications.

Informertrics

Informetrics is one of the rare truly interdisciplinary research field, and the range of theoretical and methodological approaches is rich, which is the strength of the discipline.

Interdisciplinary Research Field

Informertrics

Informetric Law’s / Regularities

1. Bradford’s Law of Scattering2. Lotka’s Law3. Zipf’s Law4. Pareto’s Law

Informertrics

This is probably the most prominent of the informetric regularities within the information sciences, perhaps because of its promise for application to the control of literature. Bradford (1934) discovered this regularity when studying the extent to which literature in a single discipline is scattered over a range of journals.

Bradford’s Law of Scattering

Lotka (1926) found that if he associated with each member of a group of chemists his article productivity, then the number of chemists. In Lotka’s, the mode of description of this yield distribution is that of the traditional statistical probability distribution function; indeed, of the informetric regularities, this one is most consistent with traditional statistical description

Lotka’s Law

Informertrics

Many of the informetric regularities depend on ranked data. The most prominent belongs to Zipf (1935), who analyzed the frequency of word occurrence in natural text. He found that if he multiplied a word’s frequency by its rank in number of occurrences in text, then the product was approximately constant. Zipf’s law, like Lotka’s law, can be related to the forms of description traditional in statistics.

Zip’s Law

Informertrics

Informetrics today offers many new possibilities for LIS Professionals. For those who want to explore Databases not only as a store of information but also as an analytical tool, it is a way to learn how to explore online databases not only for accessing documents or finding facts, but only to trace the trends and developments in society, scientific disciplines or production and consumption.

Offers New Possibilities for LIS Professionals

Informertrics

The field is becoming a scientific discipline that includes:

•All the statistical and mathematical analyses related to the study of information flows.

•Evaluation of science and technology.

•Library collection development.

Becoming a Scientific Discipline

Extensions / Distribution of Informetrics Informetrics encompasses the fields of:

Bibliometrics:Which studies quantitative aspects of recordedinformation.

Librametrics:Used the term to include statistical approachesto the study of library and its services

Scientometrics:Its concerned with the quantitative features andcharacteristics of science and scientific research.

Webometrics:Which studies quantitative aspects of theWorld wide Web.

Cybermetrics:Which is similar to webometrics, but broadens its definitionto include electronic resources.

Informertrics

In a digitally networked universe, “webometrics” and sister terms like“netometrics” and “cybermetrics” signify the extension of informetricmethods and concepts to information transactions taking place on the Internet.

References1. Introduction to Informetrics: quantitative methods in library, documentation and information science /

by Leo Egghe and Ronlad Rousseau.- New York: Elsvier, 1990.2. http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_i.aspx#informetrics3. http://www.powershow.com/view1/213056-YmMyY/Informetrics_and_IR_powerpoint_ppt_presentatio

n4. http://www.netugc.com/librametric-bibliometric-scientometrics-informetrics5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informetrics6. EXPANSION OF THE FIELD OF INFORMETRICS: ORIGINS AND CONSEQUENCES / by L. Egghe. –

(http://doclib.uhasselt.be/dspace/bitstream/1942/3954/1/Expansion.pdf)7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_management.8. Managing a Library / by S M Dhawan. Source:

http://www.unesco.org/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_865AC30682C8628957B9661D348A49DAEAAC0100/filename/unit_16.pdf

9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_science10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_policy11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_retrieval12. Bibliometrics and citation analysis : from the Science citation index to cybermetrics / Nicola De Bellis.-

Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2009.13. http://www.netugc.com/librametric-bibliometric-scientometrics-informetrics14. International Encyclopedia of information and library science/edited by John Feather and Paul Sturges. –

2nd ed.- New York: Routledge, 2003. pp.319-320.

Informertrics