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Non-indexed eponymal citedness (NIEC): first fact-finding examination of a phenomenon of scientific literature

Library of the Hungarian Parliament

The phenomenon of non-indexed eponymal cited ness (NIEC) in physics literature was one of the method ological questions debated in the so-called and well-known Ortega Hypothesis case in Science, but it remained unsolved for lack of factual research data. According to the results of this first fact-finding examination, the NIEC phenomenon is a very frequent and long-standing feature in the journal literature of physics, with permanent and growing impor tance in respect of both the number of scientists in question and the number of all eponymal citations not indexed by Science Citation Index (SCI) . The nature and phenomenology of non-indexed eponymal citedness is given in brief. The emergence of the phenomenon of NIEC marks the end of the first stage of the Merton 'obliteration by incorporation' (OBI) as a process. From the viewpoint of indexed-formal cited ness, the literature phenomenon of NIEC is a special case of Garfield's 'uncitedness'. The neglect of eponymal citedness of the most eminent scientists and the omission of the view point of historical temporality in the analysis of citation data are the most serious methodological faults committed in the indexed author 'citation analyses' which evaluate scientists. The results of this first examination of the NIEC phenomenon of scientific literature constitute a new argument against the use of bibliographic data of citation indexes for the evaluation of scientists as scientists and/or for other similar non-bibliographic purposes.

Journal of Information Science, Vol. 20, No. 1, 55-70 (1994)
DOI: 10.1177/016555159402000107


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