New Tools for Improving and Evaluating The Effectiveness of Research

Using a novel concept called citation indexing, the Institute for Scientific Information comprehensively indexes on a current basis every item published in over a thousand jou~ nals as well as every U.S. Patent issued. Withthis technique,the indexing termsare the references cited in the bibliographies of the current literature. The Science Citotion Index is published quarterly with annual cumulation and is used for retrospective searching. ASCA (Automatic Subject Citation Alert) is an analogous current alerting service whereby each user receives personal weekly computer liatinga mailed in answer to continuing questions entered as individual profiles of interest. Both the printed indexes and the computerized alerting service conveniently inform the user of those items from the current literature which cite, in their bibliographies, known published works of interest to the user. The conceptual link established to earlier related work bya current author using bibliographic citationa becomes the thresd of continuity that can lead the user forward in time froqr any reference question, phrased simply aa a citation, Up to the pertinent current literature of science and technology. The Uniqueci~atiOnin. dexing approach bypasses the usual semantic problems ordinarily involved in addressing questions to an indexing and retrieval system. T?ie powerful specificity of citation linkages enables the Science Citotion Index and ASCA services to disclose efficiently those items which should be of interest even from voluminous peripheral journals not often publishing items “obviously” on a given subject. The availability of these services now makes practicable several techniques, highly valuable inhelping toevsluateresesrch projects from initial conception of an idea through utilization of the results after publication. These techniques also provide new facta for use in evaluating the work of individuals and organizations. Details of the services and some of these applications will be discussed, including charting of the historical development of scientific ideas. Reprinted from M-C. Yovi@ D-M. Gilford,R.H. Wcox, E Staveley and H.D. Lemer, Ed&, Re~arch Program Effectitnwres$Proceedbrga of the Conference Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research Washington, D.C,, July 27-29, 1%5 (New York: Gordon and Breach, 1%6), pp. 135-146.