Abstract
In the field of astronomy we illustrate the kinds of questions that can be answered with publication studies. For instance, we show that the publication rate is directly proportional to the number of active researchers and not upon technical or scientific breakthroughs. We find that astronomers, at least, are productive of outstanding papers throughout their careers. We found that the halflives of papers can be very long (30–40 years) in those fields and sub-fields that are growing rapidly. We suggest that such quantitative studies should be used more widely in making objective evaluations of researchers, equipment, and the awarding of grants and prizes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abt, H.A. 1983, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 95, 113
Abt, H.A. 1984a, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 96, 563
Abt, H.A. 1084b, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 96, 746
Abt, H.A. 1987a, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 99, 439
Abt, H.A. 1987b, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 99, 1329
Abt, H.A. 1988a, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 100, 506
Abt, H.A. 1988b, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 100, 1567
Abt, B.A. 1990, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 102, 368
Abt, H.A. 1991, Science 251, 1408
Abt, B.A. 1992a, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 104, 235
Abt, H.A. 1992b, Scientometrics 24, 441
Abt, H.A. 1993a, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 105, 794
Abt, H.A. 1993b, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 106, 107
Abt, H.A. 1995, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 101, 401
Abt, H.A. 1996a, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 108, 375
Abt, H.A. 1996b, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 108, 1059
Abt, H.A. 1998, Nature 395, 756
Abt, H.A. 1999, Astrophys. J., 525, No. 1C/3, 1
Abt, H.A. 2000a, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific, in press
Abt, H.A. 2000b, Scientometrics 48, 65
Burstein, D. 2000, Bull. Amer. Astron. Soc., in press
Davoust, E. & Schmadel, L.D. 1987, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 99, 700
Hamilton, D.P. 1990, Science 250, 1331
Lotka, A.J. 1926, J. Washington Acad. Sci. 16, 317
Trimble, V. 1986, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 98, 1347
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Abt, H.A. (2000). What can we Learn from Publication Studies?. In: Heck, A. (eds) Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 256. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0926-3_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0926-3_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-3793-8
Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0926-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive