Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xue, Haobai, Liu, Xian
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.19267
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866909208859901952
author Xue, Haobai
Liu, Xian
author_facet Xue, Haobai
Liu, Xian
contents Bradford's law of bibliographic scattering is a fundamental principle in bibliometrics, offering valuable guidance for academic libraries in literature search and procurement. However, Bradford curves can exhibit various shapes over time, and predicting these shapes remains a challenge due to a lack of causal explanation. This paper attributes the deviations from the theoretical J-shape to integer constraints on the number of journals and articles, extending Leimkuhler and Egghe's formulas to encompass highly productive core journals, where the theoretical journal number falls below one. Using the Simon-Yule model, key parameters of the extended formulas are identified and analyzed. The paper explains the reasons for the Groos Droop and examines the critical points for shape changes. The proposed formulas are validated with empirical data from literature, demonstrating that this method can effectively predict the evolution of Bradford curves, thereby aiding academic libraries in the procurement and utilization of scientific literature.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_19267
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Temporal Evolution of Bradford Curves in Specialized Library Contexts
Xue, Haobai
Liu, Xian
Digital Libraries
Numerical Analysis
Bradford's law of bibliographic scattering is a fundamental principle in bibliometrics, offering valuable guidance for academic libraries in literature search and procurement. However, Bradford curves can exhibit various shapes over time, and predicting these shapes remains a challenge due to a lack of causal explanation. This paper attributes the deviations from the theoretical J-shape to integer constraints on the number of journals and articles, extending Leimkuhler and Egghe's formulas to encompass highly productive core journals, where the theoretical journal number falls below one. Using the Simon-Yule model, key parameters of the extended formulas are identified and analyzed. The paper explains the reasons for the Groos Droop and examines the critical points for shape changes. The proposed formulas are validated with empirical data from literature, demonstrating that this method can effectively predict the evolution of Bradford curves, thereby aiding academic libraries in the procurement and utilization of scientific literature.
title Temporal Evolution of Bradford Curves in Specialized Library Contexts
topic Digital Libraries
Numerical Analysis
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.19267