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A frequency distribution function derived from a stochastic model considering human behaviors and its comparison with an empirical bibliometric distribution

Abstract

Simon's stochastic model is extended to take both ‘selective’ and ‘random’ factors in human behaviors into consideration. The resulting distribution function is of ‘non-steadystate’ type and approaches the Poisson distribution at the random limit while the Yule (or Zipf) distribution at the selective limit. A comparison of the theoretical distribution with an observed one for classification items indexed in a bibliorgraphic database is made. The results give some insights into statistical features of a class in which the total number of elements is fixed.

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Onodera, N. A frequency distribution function derived from a stochastic model considering human behaviors and its comparison with an empirical bibliometric distribution. Scientometrics 14, 143–159 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02020248

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02020248

Keywords

  • Distribution Function
  • Frequency Distribution
  • Stochastic Model
  • Human Behavior
  • Statistical Feature