Capitalizing on a past investment: why we need bibliometric studies of social science literature again

摘要

INTRODUCTION The 1970s were an important decade for research into library and information science. Governments around the world, particularly in North America and Western Europe, made funds available for projects at a higher level than in the past. Obtaining research funds was easier in many respects. The funding agencies were willing to examine proposals for investigations which were often of an exploratory nature. At the same time the library and information schools were expanding and developing research programmes backed by their universities and polytechnics. It was also a time when methodology was becoming important. Project INFROSS investigated the information needs of social scientists. Towards the end of the project, discussions took place between Maurice Line, Michael Brittain, Stephen Roberts and other members of the research team at Bath University and David Nicholas, Maureen Ritchie and Patricia Layzell Ward at the School of Librarianship at the Polytechnic of North London which laid the foundation for collaboration on a project known as DISISS (Design of Information Systems in the Social Sciences). The work was carried out between 1971-1975 and funded by the British Library Research and Development Department and the Polytechnic of North London. The aim of DISISS was to isolate some significant questions about published secondary services -- "because they exist in large numbers, they cost in total a great deal to produce, buy and use, they are grossly underused..."(FN1) The project consisted of a series of sub-studies that examined the literature of the social sciences. Maurice Line has drawn attention to features of social science information that distinguish it from the sciences, this includes instability and imprecision since they are concerned with the behavior of human beings. He considered that there "can be no general consensus, over time or place, on the classification and terminology of the social sciences".