General

A study reported in 1978 comparing top-ranked journals in a Bradford distribution (i.e., journals contributing the most articles in a subject field) with the top-ranked journals in terms of quality of articles in a subject field (i.e., journals whose articles are cited most heavily on the average) and involving 18 journals (452 articles) in the area of “experimental extinction” (i.e., “removal of a conditioned response to a stimulus”) showed thatthere was no statistically significant correlation between the 2 groups. The journals that provided the most subject coverage were not the journals that published the most important articles.                     (Source)

A study reported in 1978 reviewing the distribution of relevant papers published in scientific journals in 23 data sets reported in the literature showed thatin all cases the correlation between the individual distribution and Bradford’s law exceeded r = .96. Further, investigations into the slope and intercept indicated that “Bradford’s law is the reflection of some underlying process not related to the characteristics of the search mechanism or the nature of the literature.” Specifically, the slope was shown to be “almost entirely determined by the total number of articles retrieved” (these accounted for 98+% of the variance), while 67% of the variance of the intercept was accounted for by the total number of journal titles retrieved.                 (Source)

Academic

A study reported in 1978 comparing top-ranked journals in a Bradford distribution (i.e., journals contributing the most articles in a subject field) with the top-ranked journals in terms of quality of articles in a subject field (i.e., journals whose articles are cited most heavily on the average), involving 18 journals (452 articles) in the area of “experimental extinction” (i.e. “removal of a conditioned response to a stimulus”), showed thatthere was no statistically significant correlation between the 2 groups. The journals that provided the most subject coverage were not the journals that published the most important articles.                       (Source)

A study reported in 1978 reviewing the distribution of relevant papers published in scientific journals in 23 data sets reported in the literature showed thatin all cases the correlation between the individual distribution and Bradford’s law exceeded r = .96. Further, investigations into the slope and intercept indicated that “Bradford’s law is the reflection of some underlying process not related to the characteristics of the search mechanism or the nature of the literature.” Specifically, the slope was shown to be “almost entirely determined by the total number of articles retrieved” (these accounted for 98+% of the variance), while 67% of the variance of the intercept was accounted for by the total number of journal titles retrieved.                       (Source)

Dr. David Kohl

 "Libraries in the digital age are experiencing the most profound transformation since ancient Mesopotamian scribes first began gathering and organizing cuneiform tablets."

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