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On measuring scientific influence

Author

Listed:
  • Ravallion, Martin
  • Wagstaff, Adam

Abstract

Bibliometric measures based on citations are widely used in assessing the scientific publication records of authors, institutions and journals. Yet currently favored measures lack a clear conceptual foundation and are known to have counter-intuitive properties. The authors propose a new approach that is grounded on a theoretical"influence function,"representing explicit prior beliefs about how citations reflect influence. They provide conditions for robust qualitative comparisons of influence -- conditions that can be implemented using readily-available data. An example is provided using the economics publication records of selected universities and the World Bank.

Suggested Citation

  • Ravallion, Martin & Wagstaff, Adam, 2010. "On measuring scientific influence," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5375, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5375
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    File URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2010/07/22/000158349_20100722103254/Rendered/PDF/WPS5375.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hadar, Josef & Russell, William R., 1971. "Stochastic dominance and diversification," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 288-305, September.
    2. Sen, Amartya, 1973. "On Economic Inequality," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198281931.
    3. repec:bla:econom:v:50:y:1983:i:197:p:3-17 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Atkinson, Anthony B., 1970. "On the measurement of inequality," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 244-263, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Martin Ravallion & Adam Wagstaff, 2012. "The World Bank’s publication record," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 343-368, December.
    2. Domingo Docampo & Lawrence Cram, 2015. "On the effects of institutional size in university classifications: the case of the Shanghai ranking," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 102(2), pages 1325-1346, February.

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