Becoming Metric-Wise

1. Introduction
2. Scientific research and communication
3. Publishing
4. Statistics
5. Publication and citation analysis
6. Journal citation analysis
7. Indicators
8. Research evaluation
9. The informetric laws
10. Networks
11. Timeline of Informetrics

Becoming Metric-Wise: A Bibliometric Guide for Researchers aims to inform researchers about metrics so that they become aware of the evaluative techniques being applied to their scientific output. Understanding these concepts will help them during their funding initiatives, and in hiring and tenure. The book not only describes what indicators do (or are designed to do, which is not always the same thing), but also gives precise mathematical formulae so that indicators can be properly understood and evaluated. Metrics have become a critical issue in science, with widespread international discussion taking place on the subject across scientific journals and organizations.

As researchers should know the publication-citation context, the mathematical formulae of indicators being used by evaluating committees and their consequences, and how such indicators might be misused, this book provides an ideal tome on the topic.

• Provides researchers with a detailed understanding of bibliometric indicators and their applications
• Empowers researchers looking to understand the indicators relevant to their work and careers
• Presents an informed and rounded picture of bibliometrics, including the strengths and shortcomings of particular indicators
• Supplies the mathematics behind bibliometric indicators so they can be properly understood
• Written by authors with longstanding expertise who are considered global leaders in the field of bibliometrics

Scientists, particularly early-career researchers interested in metric indicators; researchers and graduate students in scientometrics, informetrics, library science, and aligned fields; information professionals and academic librarians