| 4. Research methodology
Goddard and Melville (2001:16) define the research method as a means of specifying how one can go about finding a solution(s) to problems, and what steps are necessary to do so. In this study, bibliometrics was the research method used to analyze the research publications of academic librarians. Twining in Onyancha (2002:70) states that bibliometrics is a method that utilizes quantitative analysis and statistics to investigate, among other aspects of information, patterns of the data-information-knowledge transfer process. It is based on the enumeration of scientific data in the form of articles, publications, patents, and citations. The use of bibliometrics ranges from determining the level and nature of collaboration between scientists and disciplines, to examining cognitive (i.e., human, machine, and neural networks) development. According to Turnbull and Ungern-Sternberg in Onyancha (2002:70), bibliometrics consists of several specific research methodologies, which include citation counts and analysis, bibliometric coupling, co-word analysis, and webometrics.
Ikpaahindi (1985:170) observes that three main laws are applied to bibiometrics:
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Brandford’s law - which describes how literature on subjects is distributed in journals.
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Lokta’s law - suggests that only a few authors are productive and account for a relatively large percentage of the publications in any given field.
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Zipf’s laws - people find it easier to choose and use familiar as opposed to unfamiliar words, and therefore the probability of the occurrence of familiar words is higher.
The importance of bibliometrics in this decade is evident because of the growing amount of research conducted on bibliometrics. The purpose of bibliometrics is as follows:
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Hjorland in Pritchard (2006, Bibliometrics, para.2), states that bibliometrics sheds light on the process of written communications and on the nature and course of a discipline (in so far as this is displayed through written communication) by means of counting and analyzing the various facets of written communication.
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Bibliometrics analyses the popularity and impact of specific publications and examines their citations to referring documents (n.d, lll.1Bibliometrics (Scientific publications and their citations), para.1).
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It’s a tool for assessing the quality of R & D output (n.d, lll.1Bibliometrics (Scientific publications and their citations), para.1).
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It describes patterns of publications within a given field or body of literature (Wyllys 2003,Bibliometrics and Cybermetrics Section, para.2)
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Researchers may use bibliometric methods of evaluation to determine the influence of a single writer, for example, or to describe the relationship between two or more writers or works (n.d, Bibliometric, para.1)
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Bibliometrics is used to trace relationships between academic journal citations. Citation analysis, which involves examining an item's referring documents, is used when searching for materials and analyzing their merit (2006, Wikipedia, para.1).
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Data from citation indexes can be analyzed to determine the popularity and impact of specific articles, authors, and publications. Using citation analysis to gauge the importance of one's work, for example, is a significant part of the tenure review process (2006, Wikipedia, para.3).
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Information scientists also use citation analysis to quantitatively assess the core journal titles and watershed publications in particular disciplines; interrelationships between authors from different institutions and schools of thought; and related data about the sociology of academia (2006, Wikipedia, para.3).
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Bibliometric analysis can be used to make visible research co-operation, thematic relations, and centres of excellence, and can also be used to detect errors in peer evaluation (Botte 2006, Central element s of bibliometric analysis Section, Para.8)
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It is used in the quantitative analysis of science and technology performance (n.d., Bibliometric Citation analysis, p.1).
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It is also used in the quantitative analysis of the cognitive and organizational structure of science and technology (n.d., Bibliometric Citation analysis, p.1).
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Bibliometrics allows one to investigate how certain aspects of science or technology have evolved over a certain period of time (n.d., Bibliometric Citation analysis, p.1).
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The method is adequate to use in the evaluation of the collections of libraries (Rios 2000, Five cases as evidence of the application of bibliometrics techniques section, para.3)
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The librarian may use these techniques as an instrument to solve problems related to the budget reduction of libraries, and he/she may then be able to make decisions (Rios 2000, Five cases as evidence of the application of bibliometrics techniques section, para.3)
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Bibliometrics is used to identify national and international networks, and map the development of new (multi-disciplinary) fields of science and technology(OECD 2003,para.2)
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Another major area of bibliometrics research uses various methods of citation analysis in order to establish relationships between authors or their work. (Notes: definitions were not supplied. Repetition) When one author cites another author, a relationship is established. Citation analysis uses citations in scholarly works to establish links. Many different links can be ascertained, such as links between authors, between scholarly works, between journals, between fields, or even between countries (n.d, Bibliometrics: Citation analysis Section ,para.1)
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With the discovery of World Wide Web, such techniques may also be used to map out (called "scientific mapping" in traditional bibliometrics research) areas of the web that appear to be most useful or influential, based on the number of times they are hyperlinked to other websites (n.d, Bibliometrics: web application of bibliometrics Section, para.1).
The usefulness of bibliometrics continues to grow, in keeping with continued research in science and technology. Bibliometrics will, for a long time, be a useful tool for assessing published documents in all fields of science.
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