Page 302 - Becoming Metric Wise

294 Becoming Metric-Wise

• The number of articles published in a given domain.
• The number of references of articles in a journal.
• The number of loans in a library.
• The number of websites related to a given topic (webmetrics).
• The number of downloads of an e-article.
In time-dependent studies one may investigate the growth in the
number of published articles per year, or the obsolescence and growth
of the literature on a topic. Note also that most examples in this list
must be made more precise and for some this is utterly impossible on a
large scale. For example, one must specify if a renewal of a loan counts
as a loan or not. All problems related to scientific domains are impossi-
ble to answer precisely as the notion of a “domain” is a fuzzy concept.
In such cases, one operationalizes the vague notion, here a domain, by
another related notion that is precise. For example, the set of all horti-
cultural articles of the year Y can be operationalized as all articles, pub-
lished in the year Y, in journals included in the Web of Science
category Horticulture. We do not claim that this is the best possible way
of operationalization, nor do we claim that such an absolute best way
exists.

9.2.2 Obsolescence

Aging of literature (i.e., the decline in the use of certain literature) is
often described by the term obsolescence. There are different forms of
obsolescence, or, viewed from another angle, one may say that obsoles-
cence is operationalized and measured in different ways.
• Studying the use of a specific literature through reference lists in arti-
cles. This is a synchronous study when one studies only recent articles.
The arrow of time goes from the present to the past.
• Studying the use of an article or set of articles through received cita-
tions. This is a diachronous study. The time arrow goes from the pres-
ent to the future (or at least in the direction of the future).
• Studying the use of a particular type of books or objects in a library in
a diachronous way.
The first two examples are examples of studies related to global
(worldwide) obsolescence. The third one is an example of a study related
to local obsolescence. Yet, all these types of studies can be performed
using the same or very similar methods. The first two can be said to be
each other’s dual as they just transpose the notions of to cite and to be cited.