The comparison of classification-system-based normalization procedures with source normalization alternatives in Waltman and Van Eck (2013) Articles uri icon

authors

  • RUIZ-CASTILLO UCELAY, JAVIER

publication date

  • January 2014

start page

  • 25

end page

  • 28

issue

  • 1

volume

  • 8

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 1751-1577

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1875-5879

abstract

  • Waltman & Van Eck, in press, contains a systematic large-scale empirical comparison of classification-system-based versus source normalization procedures. A source-normalization procedure SNCS performs better than a normalization procedure based on the system where publications are classified into fields according to the journal subject categories in the Web of Science bibliographic database. Using the same data and the same methods, in this note we confront SNCS with the best possible procedure among those based on three available algorithmic classification systems. Our conclusions raise some doubts concerning the idea that source normalization procedures are ready to supplant their classification-system-based alternatives.

keywords

  • field-normalization; citation impact; indicators; fair