Scientific production about bibliometric studies in Brazil: an analysis from Brapci

Abstract

This research has the general objective to map the scientific production relative to the bibliometric studies indexed in the Reference Database of Journal Articles in Information Science. The methodology, in turn, is based on applied research typology, as of its nature; quantitative, regarding the problems approach; exploratory and descriptive about the goals; and bibliographic research, as for the procedures. For its achievement, it used a bibliometrics study at Brapci, from Lotka’s, Bradford’s, and Zipf’s bibliometrics laws. The study analyzes 1,253 articles and its results demonstrate that: Maria Claudia Cabrini Grácio is the author who publishes the most about the said theme; on the other hand, the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul is the teaching institution with the highest productivity; concerning the co-authorship networks, the author Maria Claudia Cabrini Grácio stands out yet again. Furthermore, it was verified that the event that publishes the most about this theme is The Brazilian Meeting on Bibliometrics and Scientometrics, and the term bibliometrics is the word that better represents the theme explored. It was also identified that 2018 was the year with the most publications on bibliometrics. Lastly, it’s concluded that the area of Information Science contributes significantly with relevant productions about bibliometrics, as well as presents the main scientific characteristics that permeate said productions.

Keywords:
bibliometrics; Lotka’s Law; Bradford’s Law; Zipf’s Law; reference database of journal articles in Information Science