Bibliometrics in Press. Representations and uses of bibliometric indicators in the Italian daily newspapers

A bibliometric review study of Michael Burawoy

This review article utilizes the technique of citation-based bibliometric analysis to provide a comprehensive understanding of the scholarly contributions made by sociologist Michael Burawoy. The most influential academic articles published by Burawoy were retrieved for analyses. Following this, scholars, journals and institutions that he most frequently collaborated with were traced. Further, country-wise analysis of his scholarship was carried out. Lastly, content analyses of retrieved articles identified prominent thematic domains in sociology to which Burawoy contributed, while temporal analyses helped to identify some emerging research hotspots. Findings reveal that historical and cultural context of Burawoy's research mostly remained confined to the U.S.A., however, he significantly contributed towards the foundation of sociology in the Global South and studied the ensuing global power imbalances. Contemporary sociological thought remains indebted to Burawoy for his comparative study of industrial relations in the 21st century, and recently, his elaboration upon the need for public sociology has taken the discipline in new intellectual directions that appeals to a broader sociological community.

Starstruck by journal prestige and citation counts? On students’ bias and perceptions of trustworthiness according to clues in publication references

Research is becoming increasingly accessible to the public via open access publications, researchers’ social media postings, outreach activities, and popular disseminations. A healthy research discourse is typified by debates, disagreements, and diverging views. Consequently, readers may rely on the information available, such as publication reference attributes and bibliometric markers, to resolve conflicts. Yet, critical voices have warned about the uncritical and one-sided use of such information to assess research. In this study we wanted to get insight into how individuals without research training place trust in research based on clues present in publication references. A questionnaire was designed to probe respondents’ perceptions of six publication attributes. A total of 148 students responded to the questionnaire of which 118 were undergraduate students (with limited experience and knowledge of research) and 27 were graduate students (with some knowledge and experience of research). The results showed that the respondents were mostly influenced by the number of citations and the recency of publication, while author names, publication type, and publication origin were less influential. There were few differences between undergraduate and graduate students, with the exception that undergraduate students more strongly favoured publications with multiple authors over publications with single authors. We discuss possible implications for teachers that incorporate research articles in their curriculum.