Following in the footnotes of giants: citation analysis and its discontents.
Reflecting on his own personal history with bibliometrics, the author places it in the broader context of research with available information and data-mining. In so doing, he considers the utility of bibliometrics for raising new questions and its limitations for guiding decision-making.
Epstein
Irwin
I
Hunter College School of Social Work, 129 East 79th St, New York, NY 10021, USA. iepstein@hunter.cuny.edu
D000739:Anecdotes as Topic; D001319:Authorship; D015706:Bibliometrics; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D004650:Employee Performance Appraisal / Q000379:methods*; D005178:Faculty / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D012947:Social Work / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*