Abstract
This work proposes an entropy-based disciplinarity indicator (EBDI) which allows the classification of scientific journals in four classes: knowledge importer, knowledge exporter, disciplinary and interdisciplinary with regards to the discipline(s) in which they are classified. Assuming that the set references in the papers published in a journal represent a significant part of their knowledge basis, the diversity (measured with Shannon’s entropy) and ratio between internal and external (to the discipline in which the journal is classified) references can provide a measure of the disciplinarity/interdisciplinarity of the journal in the reference dimension. The homologous analysis can be applied to the set of citations received by the papers published in the journal. In this article, an entropy-based indicator for the measurement of the disciplinarity of scientific journals is developed, applied (to the cited and citing dimensions) and discussed. The indicator can take finite values and it is found to be theoretically consistent when tested against two definitions for bibliometric indicators. The combinations of disciplinarity values in the citing and cited dimensions permits the classification of journals according to their knowledge importing/exporting profile (separately, with regards to the social sciences or the sciences), providing a taxonomy of the role of journals according to their importing, exporting, interdisciplinary or specialized profile with regards to the subject category in which they are classified. The indicator, EBDI and the resulting taxonomy is proposed and tested for the set of journals in LIS subject category in JCR 2013 and for the sets of journals in Andrology and Legal Medicine in JCR 2015. Evidence of concurrent validity with journal co-classification patterns is found in the three sets of journals.
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The author would like to thank Elea Giménez Toledo, Ph.D. for her contribution to the improvement of this work.
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Appendix: Classification of individual titles in Library and Information Science (regarding Social Sciences fields and Sciences fields separately)
Appendix: Classification of individual titles in Library and Information Science (regarding Social Sciences fields and Sciences fields separately)
Classification of journals in LIS (2013) according to their role as knowledge importers or exporters regarding SSCI classified journals (EBDI SSCI Citations received median = 1.16; EBDI SSCI references median = 0.7).
Full title | EBDI SSCI citations received | EBDI SSCI references | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
Investigacion Bibliotecologica | 89.97 | 1.42 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
African Journal Of Library Archives And Informatio… | 62.89 | 1.88 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Australian Library Journal | 56.25 | 1.58 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Transinformacao | 50 | 1.95 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Journal Of Librarianship And Information Science | 39.45 | 1.75 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Interlending & Document Supply | 5.02 | 100 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Library Quarterly | 4.73 | 4.85 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Library Journal | 4.51 | 94.73 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Library Collections Acquisitions & Technical Servi… | 4.03 | 2.66 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Library And Information Science | 3.78 | 71.42 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Portal-Libraries And The Academy | 3.58 | 2.83 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Australian Academic & Research Libraries | 2.93 | 1.26 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Information & Culture | 2.82 | 0.83 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS/History of Social Sciences |
Library Resources & Technical Services | 2.52 | 3.04 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Program-Electronic Library And Information Systems | 2.35 | 0.81 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS/Computer Science |
Knowledge Management Research & Practice | 2.31 | 0.35 | IMPORTER. LIS. Management |
Libri | 2.18 | 4.07 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Learned Publishing | 2.01 | 63.06 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
College & Research Libraries | 1.92 | 2.29 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Telematics And Informatics | 1.92 | 0.23 | IMPORTER. LIS. |
Journal Of Knowledge Management | 1.91 | 0.43 | IMPORTER. LIS. Management |
Library Trends | 1.89 | 1.24 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Malaysian Journal Of Library & Information Science | 1.89 | 0.74 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Canadian Journal Of Information And Library Scienc… | 1.72 | 0.99 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Library & Information Science Research | 1.7 | 0.59 | IMPORTER.LIS. |
Information Technology For Development | 1.6 | 0.7 | IMPORTER. LIS. |
Profesional De La Informacion | 1.59 | 0.84 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Health Information And Libraries Journal | 1.59 | 0.8 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Aslib Proceedings | 1.42 | 0.62 | IMPORTER. LIS. Computer Science |
Journal Of Organizational And End User Computing | 1.34 | 0.55 | IMPORTER- LIS. Computer Science |
International Journal Of Information Management | 1.34 | 0.36 | IMPORTER. LIS. |
Library Hi Tech | 1.31 | 0.86 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Informacao & Sociedade-Estudos | 1.29 | 1.17 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
European Journal Of Information Systems | 1.26 | 0.56 | IMPORTER. LIS. Computer Science |
Information Technology & Management | 1.22 | 0.35 | IMPORTER. LIS. Management |
Knowledge Organization | 1.2 | 3.45 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Information Society | 1.19 | 0.51 | IMPORTER. LIS. |
Journal Of Strategic Information Systems | 1.17 | 0.53 | IMPORTER. LIS. Computer Science |
Information Systems Research | 1.16 | 0.34 | DISCIPLINARY. LIS. Management |
Information And Organization | 1.13 | 0.9 | EXPORTER. LIS. Management |
Journal Of Global Information Management | 1.1 | 0.58 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Online Information Review | 1.1 | 0.38 | IMPORTER. LIS. Computer Science |
Mis Quarterly Executive | 1.09 | 1.22 | EXPORTER. LIS. Computer Science |
Revista Espanola De Documentacion Cientifica | 1.08 | 1.28 | EXPORTER. LIS. |
Electronic Library | 1.08 | 1.01 | EXPORTER. LIS. |
Information Processing & Management | 1.01 | 0.32 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Computer Science |
International Journal Of Geographical Information… | 0.9 | 0.3 | INTERDISCIPLINARY.LIS. Computer Science/Geography, Physical |
Information & Management | 0.87 | 0.51 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Computer Science/Management |
Scientometrics | 0.84 | 0.45 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications |
Journal Of Informetrics | 0.82 | 0.51 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Journal Of Computer-Mediated Communication | 0.81 | 0.4 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Communication |
Telecommunications Policy | 0.81 | 0.49 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Telecommunications. Communication |
Information Systems Journal | 0.79 | 0.83 | EXPORTER.LIS. Computer Science |
Journal Of Management Information Systems | 0.78 | 0.58 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Management |
Government Information Quarterly | 0.77 | 0.63 | INTERDISCIPLINARY.LIS. |
Journal Of Information Technology | 0.73 | 0.98 | EXPORTER. LIS. Computer Science, Information Systems |
Journal Of Documentation | 0.73 | 0.91 | EXPORTER. LIS. |
Journal Of Scholarly Publishing | 0.7 | 1 | EXPORTER. LIS. |
Mis Quarterly | 0.7 | 0.53 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Computer Science Management. |
Ethics And Information Technology | 0.67 | 0.52 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Ethics |
Journal Of The American Medical Informatics Associ… | 0.63 | 0.3 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Medical informatics. Health Care Sciences and Services. Computer Science, Interdisciplinary applications. Computer Sciences, Information Sciences |
Journal Of The Medical Library Association | 0.58 | 0.97 | EXPORTER. LIS. |
Information Research-An International Electronic J… | 0.56 | 0.56 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Journal Of Health Communication | 0.56 | 0.07 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Communication |
Journal Of The American Society For Information Sc… | 0.5 | 0.41 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Computer Science, Information Systems |
Information Development | 0.49 | 0.63 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Serials Review | 0.49 | 2.53 | EXPORTER. LIS. |
Data Base For Advances In Information Systems | 0.48 | 0.34 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Computer science, Information systems |
Research Evaluation | 0.45 | 0.44 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Journal Of Academic Librarianship | 0.42 | 1.12 | EXPORTER. LIS. |
Social Science Information Sur Les Sciences Social… | 0.4 | 0.16 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary |
International Journal Of Computer-Supported Collab… | 0.37 | 0.01 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Education & Educational Research |
Journal Of Global Information Technology Managemen… | 0.32 | 0.71 | EXPORTER. LIS. |
Journal Of The Association For Information Systems | 0.28 | 0.56 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Computer Science, Information Systems |
Journal Of Information Science | 0.25 | 0.42 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. Computer Science, Information Systems |
Social Science Computer Review | 0.21 | 0.2 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. Computer Science, interdisciplinary applications |
Information Technology & People | 0.03 | 0.51 | INTERDISCIPLINARY. LIS. |
Classification of journals in LIS (2013) according to their role as knowledge importers or exporters regarding SCI classified journals (EBDI SCI Citations received median = 1.19; EBDI SCI references median = 0.765).
Full title | EBDI SCI citations received | EBDI SCI references | |
|---|---|---|---|
Investigacion Bibliotecologica | 89.97 | 1.24 | DISCIPLINARY |
Information & Culture | 75.92 | 0.85 | DISCIPLINARY |
African Journal Of Library Archives And Informatio… | 62.89 | 2.05 | DISCIPLINARY |
Portal-Libraries And The Academy | 5.89 | 6.12 | DISCIPLINARY |
Interlending & Document Supply | 5.02 | 100 | DISCIPLINARY |
Informacao & Sociedade-Estudos | 4.93 | 2.18 | DISCIPLINARY |
Australian Library Journal | 3.26 | 2.45 | DISCIPLINARY |
Library Hi Tech | 3.23 | 0.84 | DISCIPLINARY |
Library And Information Science | 3.07 | 71.42 | DISCIPLINARY |
Library Quarterly | 2.95 | 93.75 | DISCIPLINARY |
Library Resources & Technical Services | 2.89 | 58.82 | DISCIPLINARY |
Libri | 2.81 | 2.02 | DISCIPLINARY |
Knowledge Organization | 2.5 | 1.33 | DISCIPLINARY |
Journal Of Librarianship And Information Science | 2.48 | 2.13 | DISCIPLINARY |
Aslib Proceedings | 2.36 | 0.72 | IMPORTER |
Library Trends | 2.35 | 1.62 | DISCIPLINARY |
Malaysian Journal Of Library & Information Science | 2.26 | 1.37 | DISCIPLINARY |
Australian Academic & Research Libraries | 2.25 | 1.47 | DISCIPLINARY |
Telematics And Informatics | 2.17 | 0.25 | IMPORTER |
Library Collections Acquisitions & Technical Servi… | 2.08 | 86.88 | DISCIPLINARY |
Library & Information Science Research | 1.93 | 0.84 | DISCIPLINARY |
Canadian Journal Of Information And Library Scienc… | 1.89 | 1.25 | DISCIPLINARY |
Library Journal | 1.81 | 94.73 | DISCIPLINARY |
Ethics And Information Technology | 1.79 | 0.52 | IMPORTER |
Scientometrics | 1.75 | 0.63 | IMPORTER |
Telecommunications Policy | 1.58 | 0.87 | DISCIPLINARY |
Journal Of Informetrics | 1.57 | 0.78 | DISCIPLINARY |
Journal Of Organizational And End User Computing | 1.55 | 0.65 | IMPORTER |
Knowledge Management Research & Practice | 1.48 | 0.32 | IMPORTER |
Learned Publishing | 1.45 | 1.23 | DISCIPLINARY |
Online Information Review | 1.42 | 0.37 | IMPORTER |
College & Research Libraries | 1.39 | 1.91 | DISCIPLINARY |
Research Evaluation | 1.36 | 0.56 | IMPORTER |
Profesional De La Informacion | 1.34 | 1.43 | DISCIPLINARY |
Program-Electronic Library And Information Systems | 1.32 | 0.65 | IMPORTER |
Information Technology & Management | 1.27 | 0.35 | IMPORTER |
Journal Of Global Information Management | 1.21 | 0.54 | IMPORTER |
Information Society | 1.19 | 0.75 | |
Journal Of Knowledge Management | 1.19 | 0.4 | |
Journal Of Scholarly Publishing | 1.08 | 1.49 | EXPORTER |
International Journal Of Information Management | 1.06 | 0.31 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Health Information And Libraries Journal | 1 | 0.57 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Government Information Quarterly | 0.96 | 0.69 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Journal Of Documentation | 0.95 | 1.19 | EXPORTER |
Electronic Library | 0.94 | 1.05 | EXPORTER |
Information Processing & Management | 0.91 | 0.35 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Journal Of Strategic Information Systems | 0.91 | 0.6 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
European Journal Of Information Systems | 0.89 | 0.54 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Information Research-An International Electronic J… | 0.83 | 0.63 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Information Systems Research | 0.83 | 0.36 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Journal Of Computer-Mediated Communication | 0.83 | 0.45 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Information Development | 0.81 | 0.64 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Revista Espanola De Documentacion Cientifica | 0.8 | 1.47 | EXPORTER |
Information Technology For Development | 0.79 | 1.04 | EXPORTER |
Information & Management | 0.74 | 0.5 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Journal Of Information Technology | 0.66 | 0.98 | EXPORTER |
Information And Organization | 0.65 | 0.98 | EXPORTER |
Social Science Information Sur Les Sciences Social… | 0.65 | 0.2 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
International Journal Of Computer-Supported Collab… | 0.64 | 0.02 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Mis Quarterly Executive | 0.62 | 1.23 | EXPORTER |
Serials Review | 0.62 | 2.52 | EXPORTER |
Journal Of The American Society For Information Sc… | 0.61 | 0.5 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Journal Of Academic Librarianship | 0.58 | 1.15 | EXPORTER |
Journal Of Management Information Systems | 0.56 | 0.55 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Mis Quarterly | 0.55 | 0.53 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Information Systems Journal | 0.54 | 0.83 | EXPORTER |
Journal Of Health Communication | 0.52 | 0.06 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Journal Of The American Medical Informatics Associ… | 0.49 | 0.22 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
International Journal Of Geographical Information… | 0.46 | 0.15 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Journal Of The Medical Library Association | 0.43 | 0.69 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Data Base For Advances In Information Systems | 0.39 | 0.38 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Social Science Computer Review | 0.34 | 0.3 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Journal Of Information Science | 0.32 | 0.54 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Journal Of Global Information Technology Managemen… | 0.29 | 0.81 | EXPORTER |
Journal Of The Association For Information Systems | 0.21 | 0.57 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
Information Technology & People | 0.03 | 0.57 | INTERDISCIPLINARY |
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Rodríguez, J.M. Disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity in citation and reference dimensions: knowledge importation and exportation taxonomy of journals. Scientometrics 110, 617–642 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-016-2190-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-016-2190-0