Power-law distribution of individual Hirsch indices, the comparison of merits in different fields, and the relation to a Pareto distribution

2006/08/29 by Pekka Pyykkö, Pyykko, Pekka
Physics and Astronomy · #Data Analysis #FOS: Physical sciences #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Statistics and Probability (physics.data-an)

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.physics/0608282

openalex publication_date 2006/08/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

A data set of Hirsch indices, h, for Finnish scientists in certain fields is statistically analyzed and fitted to h(n) =Pn^p for the n-th most-quoted scientist. The precoefficient P is characteristic for the field and the exponent p is about -0.2 for all data sets considered. For Physics, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, the P are 49.7(8), 41.3(6), and 21.4(6), respectively. These p values correspond to Pareto exponents of about -7 for the distribution of Hirsch indices h.

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