Bibliometrics and Scholarly Communication

In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest both in scholarly communication as a research area and in the application of bibliometrics as a research method. This special issue attempts to review current research that applies bibliometric techniques to research questions in scholarly communication. We consider scholarly communication to be the study of how scholars in any field use and disseminate information through formal and informal channels, whereas bibliometrics is the application of mathematics and statistical methods to books and other media of communication. We propose a matrix for the intersection of these two topics of variables studied (producers, artifacts, and concepts of communication) by research questions asked (characterizing scholarly communities, evolution of scholarly communities, evaluation of scholarly contributions, and the diffusion of ideas). Research in these areas is reviewed, and articles in this issue are set in the context of the matrix. Reliability and validity issues in the application of bibliometrics are reviewed briefly.