Skip to main content
Log in

Reflection of co-authorship networks in the Web: Web hyperlinks versus Web visibility rates

  • Published:
Scientometrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

About ten years ago a new research field called “webometrics” emerged. Similarities between methods used in webometrics and scientometrics or informetrics are evident from the literature. Are there also similarities between scientometric and Web indicators of collaboration for possible use in technology policy making? Usually, the bibliometric method used to study collaboration is the investigation of co-authorships.

In this paper, Web hyperlinks and Web visibility indicators are examined to establish their usefulness as indicators of collaboration and to explore whether similarities exist between Web-based structures and bibliographic structures.

Three empirical studies of collaboration between institutions and individual scientists show that hyperlink structures at the Web don’t reflect collaboration structures collected by bibliographic data. However Web visibility indicators of collaboration are different from hyperlinks and can be successfully used as Web indicators of collaboration.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aguillo, I. (2004), Comments about personal Web-pages in academia and research (Discussion paper, unpublished).

  • Beaver, D. Deb. (2001), Reflections on scientific collaborations (and its study): Past, present and prospective. Scientometrics, 52: 365–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brin, S., L. Page (1998), The anatomy of a large scale hypertextual web search engine, Proc. WWW, 1998.

  • Cothey, V., H. Kretschmer (2004), Does the link structure of the web provide evidence of a collaborative hypertext? Journal of Information Management and Scientometrics, Vol. 1, No. 2 (to appear).

  • Glänzel, W. (2002). Coauthorship patterns and trends in the sciences (1980–1998): A bibliometric study with implications for database indexing and search strategies. Library Trends, 50: 461–473.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glänzel, W., A. Schubert (2004), Analyzing scientific networks through co-authorship. In: H. F. Moed et al. (Eds), Handbook of Quantitative Science and Technology Research, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 257–276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glänzel, W., C. De Lange (1997), Modeling and measuring multilateral co-authorship in international scientific collaboration. Part II. A comparative study on the extent and change of international scientific collaboration links. Scientometrics, 40: 605–626.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta, B. M., H. Kretschmer, I. Aguillo (unpublished), Indo-German collaboration in S& T: an analysis through co-authored publications, 1993–2001, and Web visibility.

  • Heimeriks, G., M. Hoerlesberger, P. Van Den Besselaar (2003), Mapping communication and collaboration in heterogeneous research networks. Scientometrics, 58: 391–413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kling, R., G. McKim (2000), Not just a matter of time: field differences and the shaping of electronic media in supporting scientific communication. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 51(14): 1306–1320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kretschmer, H., I. Aguillo (2004), Visibility of collaboration on the Web. Scientometrics, 61: 405–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luukkonen, T., O. Persson, G. Silvertse (1992), Understanding patterns of international scientific collaboration. Science, Technology Q Human Values, 17: 101–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newman, M. E. J. (2001), The structure of scientific collaboration networks. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 98: 404–409.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Okubo, Y., J. F. Miquel, L. Frigoletto, J. C. Doré (1992), Structure of international collaboration in science; typology of countries through multivariate techniques using a link indicator. Scientometrics, 25: 321–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price, D. De Solla (1963), Little Science, Big Science. New York: Columbia Univ. Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tijssen, R. J. W., H. F. Moed (1989), Science and Technology Indicators, Leiden: DSWO Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Terveen, L. G., W. C. Hill (1998), Evaluating emergent collaboration on the Web, in Proceedings of CSCW 1998 (Seattle WA, November 1998), ACM Press, pp. 355–362.

  • Vaughan, L., D. Shaw (2003), Bibliographic and Web citations: What is the difference? Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 54(14): 1313–1322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wasserman, S., K. Faust (1994), Social Network Analysis. Methods and Applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson, D., G. Harris, M. Thelwall, E. Price (2003), Motivations for academic Web site interlinking: Evidence for the Web as a novel source of information on informal scholarly communication. Journal of Information Science, 29(1): 59–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zitt, M., E. Bassecoulard, Y. Okubo (2000), Shadows of the past in international cooperation: Collaboration profiles of the top five producers of science. Scientometrics, 47: 627–657.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hildrun Kretschmer.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kretschmer, H., Kretschmer, U. & Kretschmer, T. Reflection of co-authorship networks in the Web: Web hyperlinks versus Web visibility rates. Scientometrics 70, 519–540 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-007-0214-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-007-0214-5

Keywords

Navigation