Persuasive Communities: A Longitudinal Analysis of References in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 1665-1990

Abstract

References from a single scientific journal were analyzed to show how the persuasive communities created by scientific references change over time. Articles that appeared in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London were sampled over the journal's 325-year history of publication, to identify and characterize the references made in them. The data highlight changes in the practice of scholarly reference, and provide quantitative measures of the evolution of scientific publication. Types of publications, and the origin, language and age of the materials cited, were analyzed for the period studied. These measures show how persuasive communities have changed, and provide insights into the character of the scientific communities in question.

Nineteenth-Century Mathematics in the Mirror of Its Literature: A Quantitative Approach

“…One may speculate here about whether all fruitful areas of research exhibit relatively more monographs in the early phase. In any case, we may summarize with Allen et al that ''[i]n the nineteenth century, scientific journals achieved equal importance with books'' [1,293].…”

“…With respect to journal literature, this gap can only be closed by means of the mathematical subject index to the international Catalogue of Scientific Papers of the Royal Society of London. 1 There are numerous special bibliographies, of course, but they are restricted with regard to subject, content, or geographical scope. Hence, the index of the Catalogue is the only comprehensive guide to the journal literature in pure mathematics from the beginning of the 19th century onwards.…”

“…Presumably, the percentage changes over time. By considering all references in (or at the end of) articles of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society from 1665 through 1900, it has been shown that the percentage of book citations decreased from the year 1850 on from 49% to 19% in 1900, whereas the percentage of journal citations increased from 50% in 1850 to 75% in 1900 [1].…”

A identidade das pesquisas qualitativas: construção de um quadro analítico

“…A literatura científica se constrói tanto a partir de um desejo de contribuir para a construção do conhecimento pela difusão de suas idéias quanto a partir de lutas de poder travadas por pesquisadores em busca de reconhecimento e notoriedade. Os trabalhos de um autor refletem sua adesão/exclusão a grupos específicos, chegando a ultrapassar as barreiras disciplinares como sugere a noção de comunidade persuasiva introduzida por Allen, Qin, Lancaster (1994).…”

“…A relação estabelecida entre os pesquisadores e a literatura passa necessariamente pela mediação da comunidade científica, enquanto esta se define pela própria relação autor/leitor, na qual pessoas lêem os trabalhos uns dos outros ou estabelecem comunicações informais (Allen, Qin, Lancaster, 1994). A literatura selecionada pelo pesquisador está em estreita relação com o tipo de relações acadêmicas que estabelece, com os círculos por ele freqüentados, com a linha de pesquisa à qual ele se filia, com as redes de pesquisa às quais pertence etc.…”