Adjusted count, complete count, and straight count: does it matter when appraising research performance? : a case study of LIS research in post-apartheid South Africa
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Authors
Onyancha, Omwoyo Bosire
Issue Date
2013
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
Adjusted Count , Complete Count , Straight Count , Bibliometrics , Informetrics , Research , South Africa , Publications Count
Alternative Title
Abstract
Counting of publications and citations is the fundamental yet important technique used in
bibliometric/informetric measurements of research performance. Informetricians are however divided on the most appropriate method of counting publications and citations as a means of assessing the authors, institutions and countries’ research output and citation impact, respectively. This paper reports on the results generated from a case study of the LIS
researchers’ output using three methods of publications count, namely, adjusted count (Ac), complete count (Cc) and straight count (Sc). Using data extracted from the Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA) database, the study found that there are differences in the number of articles generated in each counting method per author, as well as in the authors’ rankings. The study concludes that in informetric studies, the method of counting chosen for purposes of assessing the performance of researchers matters as each method produces different results. The study recommends that the choice of the counting method should largely depend on the purpose for which the informetric study is being conducted.
Description
Citation
Onyancha, Omwoyo Bosire (2013) Adjusted count, complete count, and straight count: does it matter when appraising research performance? A case study of LIS research in post-apartheid South Africa. African Journal of Libraries, Archives and Information Science;23(2): 93-103
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License
Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
0795-4778