bibliometrics

Bibliometrics is the quantitative study of scholarly publications, using bibliographic data such as papers, authors, venues, and citations to analyze patterns of research production, dissemination, and influence. It is a subfield of informetrics often used to inform policy, funding decisions, and management of research programs. While related, bibliometrics focuses on measurable indicators derived from publication data, whereas qualitative assessment examines research quality more directly.

Common metrics include publication counts and citation counts, as well as the h-index, which combines productivity and citation impact. Journal-level metrics include the Journal Impact Factor, the Eigenfactor, and the SCImago Journal Rank. More recently, altmetrics capture digital attention such as downloads, mentions in social media, media coverage, and policy references. Data sources frequently used in bibliometrics include Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, Dimensions, and PubMed; each source varies in coverage and data quality.

Applications of bibliometrics cover evaluation of individuals, research groups, and institutions; assessment for tenure, promotion, and funding; and strategic decision making in libraries and research organizations. Bibliometric analysis also informs rankings and performance dashboards. Because indicators are imperfect proxies, they are typically used in combination with peer review and contextual information.

Limitations and criticisms include field and language biases, differing citation practices across disciplines, citation lag, and the potential for self-citation or gaming. Coverage gaps and name disambiguation challenges can affect accuracy. Consequently, bibliometric indicators are best applied with normalization, discipline-aware comparisons, and cautious interpretation, recognizing their role as one part of a broader assessment framework.

Historically, bibliometrics traces to citation indexing work by Eugene Garfield and the development of Journal Citation Reports in the 1960s–70s, with the h-index introduced by Jorge Hirsch in 2005 and the broader rise of altmetrics in recent years.