2015/05/04 by Dennis F. Thompson, Cheri K. Walker · 479 citations
Computer Science · Decision Sciences · Engineering · #Benchmarking #Bibliometrics #Citation #Citation analysis #Computer science #Data science #Engineering #Health care #Library science #MEDLINE #Management science #Political science #Web visibility and informetrics #scientometrics and bibliometrics research
paper · pdf · doi:10.1002/phar.1586
published in Pharmacotherapy The Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy 35(6), 551-559 (Wiley)
crossref issued 2015/05/04 · crossref published 2015/05/04 · crossref published-online 2015/05/04 · openalex publication_date 2015/05/04 · crossref created 2015/05/04 · crossref published-print 2015/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2025/10/21 · crossref indexed 2026/08/04 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/09
The discipline of bibliometrics involves the application of mathematical and statistical methods to scholarly publications. The first attempts at systematic data collection were provided by Alfred Lotka and Samuel Bradford, who subsequently established the foundational laws of bibliometrics. Eugene Garfield ushered in the modern era of bibliometrics with the routine use of citation analysis and systematized processing. Key elements of bibliometric analysis include database coverage, consistency and accuracy of the data, data fields, search options, and analysis and use of metrics. A number of bibliometric applications are currently being used in medical science and health care. Bibliometric parameters and indexes may be increasingly used by grant funding sources as measures of research success. Universities may build benchmarking standards from bibliometric data to determine academic achievement through promotion and tenure guidelines in the future. This article reviews the history, definition, laws, and elements of bibliometric principles and provides examples of bibliometric applications to the broader health care community. To accomplish this, the Medline (1966-2014) and Web of Science (1945-2014) databases were searched to identify relevant articles; select articles were also cross-referenced. Articles selected were those that provided background, history, descriptive analysis, and application of bibliometric principles and metrics to medical science and health care. No attempt was made to cover all areas exhaustively; rather, key articles were chosen that illustrate bibliometric concepts and enhance the reader's knowledge. It is important that faculty and researchers understand the limitations and appropriate uses of bibliometric data. Bibliometrics has considerable potential as a research area for health care scientists and practitioners that can be used to discover new information about academic trends, pharmacotherapy, disease, and broader health sciences trends.