Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

One approach to study communication in science

  • Published:
Scientometrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The hypothesis proposed by the author expresses that Zipf's law is only fulfilled on rank distributions which correspond to highly integrated (closed) subject fields. This hypothesis was tested on vast amount of empirical data. It was shown that document files in integrated fields are characterised by thematic, chronological (and sometimes geographical) closedness, as well as closedness by citation. Relationships were found between empirical facts usually considered in isolation within the frameworks of different scientometric and bibliometric theories (the theory of information concentration and scattering, obsolescence theory, theory of changing source productivity).

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. G. M. DOBROV, Prognoznoye obespecheniye programmnogo upravleniya (Forecasts in support to programme management), In:IV Kiyevskij simposium po naukovedeniyu i nauchno-tekhnicheskomu prognosirovaniyu, P. II, Naukova Dumka, Kiev, 1972, 197–256.

    Google Scholar 

  2. G. M. DOBROV, A. A. KORENNOJ, Nauka: informatsiya i upravleniye (informatsionnyye problemy upravleniya naukoj). (Science: information and management. Information problems in science management),Sovetskoye radio, Moskva, 1977, p. 256.

  3. G. M. DOBROV, R. H. RANDOLPH, R. W. D. RAUCH, Information networks for international team research,Telecommunication Policy, (Dec. 1978), 282.

  4. A. A. KORENNOJ, Informatsionnyye modeli v upravlenii naukoj (Information models in science management),Naukovedeniye i informatika, 22 (1981) 36.

    Google Scholar 

  5. M. V. ARAPOV, A. N. LIBKIND, O ponyatii zamknutogo informatsionnogo potoka (On the notion of a closed information flow),Nauchno-tekhnicheskaya informatsiya, Seriya 2: Informationnyye protsessy i sistemy No. 6 (1977) 1.

    Google Scholar 

  6. M. V. ARAPOV, A. N. LIBKIND, Nauchnyye dokumenty v zerkale informatiki (Scientific documents from the informatics viewpoint),Voprosy informatsionnoj teorii i praktiki, No. 47 (1982) 47.

    Google Scholar 

  7. G. K. ZIPF,Human Behaviour and the Principle of Least Effort, Cambridge (Mass.), 1949.

  8. S. C. BRADFORD, Sources of information on scientific subjects,Engineering, 137 (1934) 85.

    Google Scholar 

  9. S. C. BRADFORD,Documentation, Grossby Lockwood, London, 1948, p. 156.

    Google Scholar 

  10. A. J. LOTKA, The frequency distribution of scientific productivity,Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, 16 (1926) 317.

    Google Scholar 

  11. B. C. BROOKES, Bradford's law and the bibliography of science,Nature, 224 (1969) 953.

    Google Scholar 

  12. B. C. BROOKES, Theory of the Bradford law,Journal of Documentation, 33 (1977) 180.

    Google Scholar 

  13. B. C. VICKERY, Bradford law of scattering,Journal of Documentation, 4 (1948) 198.

    Google Scholar 

  14. V. I. GOR'KOVA, Rangovoye raspredeleniye na mnozhestvakh nauchno-tekhnicheskoj informatsii (Rank distribution on the sets within the scientific and technical information context),Nauchno-tekhnicheskaya informatsiya, Seriya 2: Informatsionnyye protsessy i sistemy, No. 7 (1969) 5.

    Google Scholar 

  15. V. I. GOR'KOVA, Sistemnnye issledovaniya dokumental'nogo informatsionnogo potoka (Systems approach to study the documentary information flow), In:Sistemnyye issledovaniya, Ezhegodnik, 1979, Nauka, Moskva, 1980, p. 240–266.

    Google Scholar 

  16. V. I. GOR'KOVA, A. I. CHERNY, Referativnomu zhurnalu “Informatika” 15 let (opyt sistemnogo analiza) (The abstracting journal “Informatics” is 15 years old — an attempt of systems analysis),Nauchno-tekhnicheskaya informatsiya, Seriya 1, No. 3 (1978) 1.

    Google Scholar 

  17. L. S. KOZACHKOV, Nekotoryye osobennosti raspredeleniya Zipfa-Bradforda i ego prilozheniya v informatike i naukovedenii (Some peculiar features of Zipf-Bradford distribution and its applications in information science and science of science),Naukovedeniye i informatika, Resp. mezhved. sb., 1 (1969) 81.

    Google Scholar 

  18. L. S. KOZACHKOV,Sistemy potokov nauchnoj informatsii (Flow Systems in Scientific Information), Naukova Dumka, Kiev, 1973, p. 196.

    Google Scholar 

  19. L. S. KOZACHKOV, Informatsionnye systemy s ierarkhicheskoj (“rangovoj”) strukturoj (Information systems with a hierarchical (ranked) structure),Nauchno-tekhnicheskaya informatsiya, Seriya 2: Informatsionnyye protsessy i sistemy, No. 8 (1978) 15.

    Google Scholar 

  20. B. MANDELBROT, O rekurentnom kodirovanii, organichivayuschem vliyaniye pomekh (On recurrent coding to limit the influence of noise), In:Teoriya peredachi soobschenij, Inostrannaya Literatura, Moskva, 1967, p. 139–157.

    Google Scholar 

  21. A. T. MITSEVICH, Issledovaniye struktury potokov nauchnotekhnicheskoj informatsii po machinostroyeniyu (An investigation into the structure of scientific and technical information flows in mechanical engineering),Nauchno-tekhnicheskaya informatsiya, Seriya 2: Informatsionnyye protsessy i sistemy, No. 5 (1975) 3.

    Google Scholar 

  22. A. T. MITSEVICH, Avtomatisatsiya processov proyektirovaniya sudov i informatsionnoye obespecheniye (Computerised processes in ship design and information support), VINITI, Moscow, 1975, p. 296.

    Google Scholar 

  23. A. T. MICEVIC, Mathematisches Modell zur Analyse dokumentaler Informationsströme, In:Dokumentation/Information, Institut für Informationswesen, Erfindungsw. und Recht Techn. Hochsch, Ilmenau, Teil 1, 1978, p. 103–114.

    Google Scholar 

  24. YU. K. ORLOV, Obobschennyj zakon Zipfa-Mandelbrota i chastotnyye struktury informatsionnykh edinits razlichnykh urovnej (The generalised Zipf-Mandelbrot law and frequency structures of information units of different levels), In:Vychislitel'naya lingvistika, Nauka, 1976, p. 179–202.

  25. A. CHONEZ, La dispersion de la littérature periodique en science de l'information ou l'imposture pseudo de la loi de Bradford,Documentaliste, 11 (1974) 175.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Yu. A. SHREIDER, Slozhnyye sistemy i kosmologicheskiye printsipy (Complex systems and cosmological principles), In:Sistemnyye issledovaniya, Ezhegodnik, 1975, Nauka, Moskva, 1976, p. 149–171.

    Google Scholar 

  27. YU. A. SHREIDER, A. A. SHAROV, Sistemy i modeli (Systems and models),Radio i svyaz', Moskva, 1982, p. 152.

  28. M. V. ARAPOV, E. N. EFIMOVA, Yu. A. SHREIDER, O smysle rangovykh raspredelenij (On the meaning of rank distributions),Nauchno-tekhnicheskaya informatsiya, Seriya 2: Informatsionnyye protsessy i sistemy, No. 1 (1975) 9.

    Google Scholar 

  29. M. V. ARAPOV, E. N. EFIMOVA, Ponyatiye leksicheskoj struktury teksta (The notion of lexical structure of a text),Nauchno-tekhnicheskaya informatsiya, Seriya 2: Informatsionnyye protsessy i sistemy, No. 6 (1975) 3.

    Google Scholar 

  30. A. DO ESPIRITO SANTO,A measure of the Dimensions of Interdisciplinarity of Two Applied Sciences, A Scientometric Model, University of Wiscontin, Madison Wisc., 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  31. M. V. ARAPOV, V. N. VERESCHAKO, A. N. LIBKIND, Programmy dlya issledovaniya rangovykh raspredelenij (Programs for the study of rank distributions),Algoritmyi programmy: inform. byul., No. 3 (1975) 17.

    Google Scholar 

  32. A. N. LIBKIND, E. B. RUDNIK, K probleme ispol'zovaniya periodicheskykh i prodolzhayuschikhsya izdanij (On the problem of use of periodicals and serials),NTI v stankostroitel'noj i instrumental'noj promyshlennosti) No. 3 (1983) 18.

    Google Scholar 

  33. M. V. ARAPOV, A. N. LIBKIND, Izmeneniye produktivnosti regulyarnykh istochnikov informatsii (Changes in prodicitivity of regular information sources),Nauchno-teknicheskaya informatsiya, Seriya 2: Informatsionnyye protsessy i sistemy, No. 10 (1976). 3.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute of Information on Mechanical Engineering, 12 Parkovaya ul., 5, Moscow, (USSR)

    A. N. Libkind

Authors
  1. A. N. Libkind
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Libkind, A.N. One approach to study communication in science. Scientometrics 8, 217–231 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02016937

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02016937

Keywords

Search

Navigation