This is a comparative study of four sub-disciplines that allow us to calculate the information flows, the academic communication and the dissemination of scientific knowledge: bibliometrics, informetrics, scientometrics and webometrics. Through the reading of well known authors who have approached theses matters, this work poses a theoretical-conceptual discussion and analyses the similarities and differences linking and separating these four quantitative methods regarding their historical trajectory, object of study, variables, techniques and objectives. More emphasis is given to the webometrics description, since this is an emergent area within Information Science that has not been researched very much and presents great opportunities as a result of world-wide expansion of the Internet.
Bibliometrics; Scientometrics; Informetrics; Webometrics; Quantitative Methods for Evaluation
