A defence and illustration of bibliometrics

The debate on the merits of evaluation has accused one branch of information science – bibliometrics – of all manner of ills. This article defends bibliometrics by presenting a brief history of the field before turning to its new epistemological framework within information science, which informs the new metrical approach. A brief overview of the statistical and mathematical bases of the bibliometrical approach demonstrates their variety and complexity, which doubtless explains why they are so widely misunderstood. The article concludes by looking at their applications in the market and non-market sectors.
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