Modern Informetric Methods for the Evaluation of Scientific Research
Informetrics is a relatively new scientific discipline linking computer science with information science and using various data mining, statistical, and graph-theoretical approaches and methods to measure information. It may be regarded as a general field of science that comprises scientometrics, bibliometrics, webometrics, and other –metrics fields that have all seen an enormous growth in recent years. In fact, in a time when the need for scientific advancement and technological innovation is immense, but funding sources are limited, measuring the quality of research outputs has become indispensable and recognized by many. Indeed, the recently founded Journal of Informetrics has immediately become one of the fastest growing high-impact journals in the Journal Citation Reports® database by Thomson Reuters, which clearly demonstrates the importance of informetrics as a research domain.
This habilitation thesis presents the research I have conducted in the last several years with the aim of developing new methods to evaluate scientific research output more fairly and whose main results I have published in leading journals of the field. First, a new method based on the PageRank algorithm by Google is presented that detects the most influential re-searchers by analyzing citation as well as collaboration networks and by taking into account the time of publications and collaborations (published in Journal of Informetrics). Second, a large-scale bibliometric analysis of a huge data collection gained from the CiteSeer digital library is carried out in order to determine the scientific production and impact of countries in computer science (appeared in Information Processing and Management). Third, the same digital library is used to find the most prominent computer science researchers by applying 12 different ranking methods (published in Scientometrics). Fourth, a new scientometric indicator is introduced that is based on the h-index and can grow as well as decline (in press in Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology). Fifth, a large-scale analysis of institutional suborganizations in the field of library and information science is carried out (published in Information). And sixth, the differences between CiteSeer and its successor, CiteSeerX, in terms of coauthorship networks are investigated (appeared in Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology).
The work presented in this habilitation thesis is a significant contribution to the advancement of informetrics, particularly in the Czech Republic, where the field is almost unknown.
Keywords: Informetrics, scientometrics, bibliometrics.
Year: 2013
Full text [4407 kB]Authors of this publication:
Dalibor Fiala
Phone: +420 377 63 2429
E-mail: dalfia@kiv.zcu.cz
WWW: http://www.kiv.zcu.cz/~dalfia/
Related Projects:
Social Networks Analysis | |
| Authors: | Karel Ježek, Dalibor Fiala, Michal Nykl |
| Desc.: | Application of the PageRank algorithm and its modifications to the exploration of network structures, particularly citation and co-autorship networks. |