tantometrics

Tantometrics is a theoretical concept within the field of information science and bibliometrics that describes the study of the quantity and impact of publications and citations originating from a specific institution or geographic region over time. It is a portmanteau of "tantal" which implies a large, perhaps uncountable, quantity, and "metrics" referring to measurement. The core idea is to track the growth and influence of scholarly output from a defined entity, such as a university, a research center, or a country.

The analysis typically involves examining publication databases like Scopus or Web of Science to count the number of research papers produced and the number of times these papers have been cited by other researchers. This allows for the assessment of research productivity and impact. Tantometrics can be used to identify trends in research areas, evaluate the performance of research groups, and understand the contribution of a region to the global body of knowledge.

While the term "tantometrics" is not as widely established as "bibliometrics" or "scientometrics," it serves as a descriptive term for a specific application of these broader fields. It emphasizes the sheer volume and the long-term perspective when analyzing scholarly activity. The focus is on understanding the cumulative effect and sustained influence of research output rather than just snapshot evaluations.