| Title |
The “Mendel syndrome” in science: durability of scientific literature and its effects on bibliometric analysis of individual scientists
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Scientometrics, June 2011
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s11192-011-0436-4 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Rodrigo Costas, Thed N. van Leeuwen, Anthony F. J. van Raan |
| Abstract |
The obsolescence and "durability" of scientific literature have been important elements of debate during many years, especially regarding the proper calculation of bibliometric indicators. The effects of "delayed recognition" on impact indicators have importance and are of interest not only to bibliometricians but also among research managers and scientists themselves. It has been suggested that the "Mendel syndrome" is a potential drawback when assessing individual researchers through impact measures. If publications from particular researchers need more time than "normal" to be properly acknowledged by their colleagues, the impact of these researchers may be underestimated with common citation windows. In this paper, we answer the question whether the bibliometric indicators for scientists can be significantly affected by the Mendel syndrome. Applying a methodology developed previously for the classification of papers according to their durability (Costas et al., J Am Soc Inf Sci Technol 61(8):1564-1581, 2010a; J Am Soc Inf Sci Technol 61(2):329-339, 2010b), the scientific production of 1,064 researchers working at the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) in three different research areas has been analyzed. Cases of potential "Mendel syndrome" are rarely found among researchers and these cases do not significantly outperform the impact of researchers with a standard pattern of reception in their citations. The analysis of durability could be included as a parameter for the consideration of the citation windows used in the bibliometric analysis of individuals. |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 104 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 2 | 2% |
| Mexico | 2 | 2% |
| Netherlands | 1 | <1% |
| Australia | 1 | <1% |
| Malaysia | 1 | <1% |
| Sweden | 1 | <1% |
| Denmark | 1 | <1% |
| United States | 1 | <1% |
| Poland | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 0 | 0% |
| Unknown | 93 | 89% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 17 | 16% |
| Librarian | 15 | 14% |
| Student > Master | 12 | 12% |
| Other | 8 | 8% |
| Professor | 7 | 7% |
| Other | 29 | 28% |
| Unknown | 16 | 15% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Social Sciences | 24 | 23% |
| Computer Science | 14 | 13% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 9 | 9% |
| Arts and Humanities | 8 | 8% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 5 | 5% |
| Other | 23 | 22% |
| Unknown | 21 | 20% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 6. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 31 March 2012.
All research outputs
#5,681,293
of 22,664,267 outputs
Outputs from Scientometrics
#1,003
of 2,667 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#31,724
of 115,032 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Scientometrics
#7
of 26 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,664,267 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 74th percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,667 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 10.6. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 62% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 115,032 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 72% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 26 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 73% of its contemporaries.