Matthias Winterhager

International collaboration of three east European countries with Germany in the sciences, 1980–1989

We attempt to analyse the collaboration of three countries -Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia- with the EC countries, especially with Germany in the decade 1980-1989

MAPPING AUSTRALIAN GEOPHYSICS: A CO-HEADING ANALYSIS

Descriptive capacities of a new bibliometric method, namely co-heading analysis, are investigated. The method uses the appearance and co-appearance of classification subdivisions (headings) in the document records of 1988 INSPEC database to display correspondingly the main topics of Australian geophysics and their links. The findings, in the form of inclusion maps (resulting from multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis) provide new insights into geophysics national activity and into its structure.

Highly Dynamic Specialities in Climate Research

In this paper the identification and analysis of highly dynamic, rapidly developing research fronts of climate research are demonstrated. The underlying method based on co-citation analysis is described, and two selected highly dynamic specialities (HDS) are analysed using journal profiles, co-citation maps, and actor profiles as information elements. The two examples demonstrate how co-citation analysis can be used to identify and analyse highly dynamic specialities.

An overview of Mike Moravcsik's publication activity in physics

A bibliometric online technique is applied on data from the INSPEC bibliographic file to describe some aspects of Moravcsiks publication activity (co-authorship, source journals, etc.). Separately, a co-occurrence method is used to represent the subject structure (the main topics and their links) of his papers in physics. The principle underlying this method is to develop a network based on common appearances of classification subdivisions (headings) as well as of controlled terms in Moravcsiks document records. The results, in the form of line and point graphs, give a global picture of Mike Moravcsiks research profile in physics.

BIBLIOMETRIC INDICATORS FOR ASSESSING STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF WEST GERMAN SCIENCE

Summary Two approaches in the bibliometric study of science are employed to analyze the relative standing of national science systems: time-series indicators of publication and citation counts and co-citation analysis. The former are combined to a “performance indicator”. The potential of co-citation analysis for the determination of strengths and weaknesses of science is discussed. Also, the possibility to use both approaches in sequence as well as the limitations of such a coupling are analyzed.

Which reality do we measure

Scientific reality is a multi-sided phenomenon which cannot be described in a single and authoritative way. The descriptions of scientific research areas differ if one compares the definitions of science policy programmes with expert judgments in the peer-review process. Bibliometric measurements function as an intermediate representation of science. To make them useful and compatible with other representations they have to be translated. The difficulties of mutual translation of these different delineations of scientific research areas are demonstrated in two case studies (marine sciences and multiple sclerosis research) where each of these three different representations of science is supported by empirical results.

Konstruktion von Beziehungen zwischen Klassifikationsklassen: ein quantitativer Ansatz

Es wird eine alternative Methode zur Herstellung von Querverweisen in hierarchisch strukturierten Klassifikationssystemen vorgestellt, die ohne das subjektive Wissen von Experten des jeweiligen wissenschaftlichen Spezialgebiets auskommt. Das Verfahren geht von der Grundannahme aus, das die Haufigkeit gemeinsamen Auftretens von Basiselementen eines Klassifikationssystems in den konkreten, in der Datenbasis enthaltenen Dokumenten (oder anderen Objekten) eines ausgewahlten wissenschaftlichen Fachgebiets als ein Mas fur die inhaltliche Verwandtschaft dieser Elemente angesehen werden kann. Die Methode basiert auf einer (automatischen) Auszahlung der Haufigkeiten des einfachen und gemeinsamen Auftretens der Klassifikationselemente in einer gegebenen Menge von Dokumenten und fuhrt ein angemessenes Ahnlichkeitsmas zur Bestimmung der inhaltlichen Verwandtschaft der Elemente ein. Das Verfahren wird in einem Teilbereich der internationalen Klassifikation fur Physik sowie anhand der Zeitschriftenzuordnung einer multidisziplinaren Datenbank demonstriert.