The Evolution of Researchers’ Bibliography: From Systematic Organization to Citation
The Evolution of Researchers’ Bibliography: From Systematic Organization to Citation

Summary/Abstract: Purpose/Thesis: This paper analyses the publications of two authors from different countries through a number of citations identified by Google Scholar. Jean Meyriat and Edson Nery da Fonseca are outstanding researchers in France and Brazil, respectively, both contributing to the formation and advancement of information science in their countries. The “traditional” bibliography and the development trajectory of their scientific achievements were considered in this analysis. Approach/Methods: The analysis of the researchers’ publications identified by Google Scholar based on their names helps to understand the role that search engines play in the evaluation of science and its effect on information seeking and in the evaluation of the scientific production. The qualitative research is based on a bibliological analyses focusing on the way in which the written production of the selected authors is reported and highlighted. The carried out study is exploratory in nature, so it proposes to raise questions and to emit hypotheses that could suggest directions for further research. Results and conclusions: The uniformity of controlled metadata used in traditional bibliographies make it possible to follow the progress of an author’s thought. The same is true of other activities he has performed in and out of the field and, it is also true for what has been produced about this author. Searching for information in Google Scholar can show a researcher’s production and publi­cations about her/him in the order of citations but not in the order of the progress of the researcher’s scientific achievements or development of research focused on these achievements. Placed in the context of the analysis of the scientific field as it was defined by Bourdieu (1976), the observation of the visibility of the production Jean Meyriat and Edson Nery da Fonseca, two major actors in information science in France and Brazil , by Google Scholar, shows a tendency to underemphasize the role they played. Practical implications: The functioning of the scientific field has specific effects on the production of research. The search engines such as Google Scholar, made the research output more accessible on Internet. However, the criteria they prioritize, i.e., the number of citations, ignores important aspects of a scientific career. Qualitative analysis that considers the networks of sociability and the development trajectory of researchers’ scientific achievements may reveal relevant contributions to their scientific field.

• Details
• Contents