The Dependence of Lotka's Law on the Selection of Time Periods in the Development of Scientific Areas and Authors

Abstract

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Mathematics 1868–2008: a bibliometric analysis

“…His studies covered either special topics (see for example (Wagner-Döbler and Berg 1995;Wagner-Döbler 1995, 1996, 1997a), or a specific publication time period An extensive study of mathematics publications during the 19th century was performed by Wagner-Döbler and Berg (1996). This study was…”

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

“…In the cases examined by Lotka, the exponent Ͳ was approximately 2.0 (''inverse square law''). But later investigations showed that it lies between about 1.8 and 3.8, and that it is presumably dependent on the time period considered in the development of scientific areas [19]. With the x-values in ascending order, the function results in a hyperbolic curve or approximately in a straight line on double-logarithmic paper.…”

A Scientometric Analysis of Public Transport Research

“…Furthermore, the inequality of the frequency with which scholars are able to contribute has roots in the Matthew Effect (Wagner-Döbler and Berg 1995) and the related theory of cumulative advantage proposed by Price (1976). That is, more eminent scholars are given more credit and are repeatedly rewarded by other scientists.…”

“…The constant C corresponds to the number of authors who have contributed to the field only once, as in Serenko and Bontis (2004). The start and end point of the time period of investigation are arbitrary as a matter of principle (Wagner-Döbler and Berg 1995).…”

“…Thus, those non-academics tend to publish less frequently than academics. Further, note that selecting a certain time period in the development of a scientific area has effects on the frequency distribution, as it generally depends on the individual behavior of authors and on the inflow of new authors (Wagner-Döbler and Berg 1995).…”