[Taxacom] are journal-ranking algorithms code-compliant?
Stephen Thorpe
stephen_thorpe at yahoo.co.nz
Tue Apr 14 23:25:01 CDT 2015
2015
Sounds like a case of the uncited leading the uncited! :)
Stephen
--------------------------------------------
On Wed, 15/4/15, Gerwin Kasperek <sls2411 at ub.uni-frankfurt.de> wrote:
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] are journal-ranking algorithms code-compliant?
To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Received: Wednesday, 15 April, 2015, 5:18 PM
Quoting
Stephen Thorpe <stephen_thorpe at yahoo.co.nz>:
> It would be completely pointless to treat
name authorities as
> citations! For
one thing, certain Turks would rub their hands with
> glee at the prospect of all those
citations for renaming homonyms!
> For
another thing, it makes no more sense than to cite the
person
> who first coined any term
used in the article, or a person who
>
helped to invent any concept used therein. Should we cite
Linnaeus
> every time we use the
Linnean system of naming? Should we cite
> Hennig every time a cladistic concept is
used? Should we cite Thomas
> Edison
if we mention a light bulb?
> Stephen
Eugene
Garfield, inventor of the impact factor, wrote some
interesting
papers on what he called
uncitedness. He saw three forms of uncitedness:
uncitedness I: publications too irrelevant or
lousy
uncitedness II: publications
overlooked by later authors
uncitedness III:
"It is an uncitedness of distinction that comes to
those whose work has become so well known
(and presumably been
previously so
heavily cited) that one finds it at first tedious, then
unnecessary, and finally actually gauche to
cite such men at all." (E.
Garfield,
Essays of an Information Scientist 1: 413-414, 1973)
Obviously, Garfield did not
recognise uncitedness of taxonomic
authors, else he would have considered this to
be form no. IV. Most
cases of uncitedness
of taxonomic authors do not seem to fit any of
the three forms described (although a minority
might be refered to
form III).
Regards
Gerwin
Kasperek
>
--------------------------------------------
> On Wed, 15/4/15, Frank T. Krell <Frank.Krell at dmns.org>
wrote:
>
> Subject:
RE: [Taxacom] are journal-ranking algorithms
code-compliant?
> To: "mivie at montana.edu"
<mivie at montana.edu>,
> "deepreef at bishopmuseum.org"
<deepreef at bishopmuseum.org>,
"'Dan
> Lahr'"
<dlahr at ib.usp.br>,
"'Stephen Thorpe'"
>
<stephen_thorpe at yahoo.co.nz>
> Cc: "'TAXACOM'" <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>,
"penev at pensoft.net"
> <penev at pensoft.net>
> Received: Wednesday, 15 April, 2015,
9:44 AM
>
> It
doesn't help the
> impact factor,
but it helps citation counts of authors (i.e.
> us taxonomists). So it would be good for
our metrics rather
> than for the
journals' metrics.
> Frank
>
>
> Dr. Frank-T.
>
Krell
> Curator of Entomology
> Commissioner, International Commission
on
> Zoological Nomenclature
> Chair, ICZN ZooBank
> Committee
>
Department of Zoology
> Denver Museum
of Nature & Science
> 2001 Colorado
Boulevard
> Denver, CO 80205-5798
USA
> Frank.Krell at dmns.org
>
> Phone: (+1) (303)
370-8244
> Fax: (+1) (303) 331-6492
> http://www.dmns.org/science/museum-scientists/frank-krell
> lab page: http://www.dmns.org/krell-lab
>
> The Denver Museum
of Nature
> & Science aspires to
create a community of critical
>
thinkers who understand the lessons of the past and act
as
> responsible stewards of the
future.
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Taxacom [mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu]
> On Behalf Of Michael A. Ivie
> Sent: Tuesday,
>
April 14, 2015 2:39 PM
> To: deepreef at bishopmuseum.org;
> 'Dan Lahr'; 'Stephen
Thorpe'
> Cc: 'TAXACOM'; penev at pensoft.net
> Subject: Re: [Taxacom] are
journal-ranking
> algorithms
code-compliant?
>
>
If anyone is thinking that citing the paper is
> going to help impact factors, think
again, as only the
> citations in the
first 2 years post publication are
>
counted. The half-life of a taxonomic paper may be 50
> years, but that does not matter.
>
> Mike
>
> On
> 4/14/2015 2:35 PM, Richard Pyle
wrote:
> >
> I
have always treated name authorities as citations (i.e.,
> included the full literature citation in
the
> bibliography). In the days when
paper-based publication
> dominated and
every character on the printed page was
> precious, editors would push back.
Now, there doesn't
> seem to be as
much (if any) resistance.
> >
> > Aloha,
> >
Rich
> >
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>
>> From: Taxacom [mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu]
> On Behalf
>
>> Of Dan Lahr
> >> Sent:
Tuesday, April 14, 2015 1:56
> AM
> >> To: Stephen Thorpe
> >> Cc: TAXACOM; penev at pensoft.net
> >> Subject: Re: [Taxacom] are
> journal-ranking algorithms
code-compliant?
> >>
> >> Hi all,
>
>>
> >> This
> discussion has brought back an issue
that I often wondered
> about.
> >>
>
>>
> Assume that the authority
placed after a name, besides being
>
metadata
> >> that objectively
> establishes unambiguous taxon identity,
is ALSO a
> citation.
> >> This should actually mean
> that taxonomic descriptions are in fact
highly cited.
> >>
> >> Perhaps it is
> easier to start actually adding
authority citations in
> >> the
references list. This would
>
certainly increase IF, not to
>
>>
> mention it may increase
objectivity in some works. I am not
>
entirely
> >> sure what the
down-side
> to doing this would be.
> >>
> >>
best,
> >>
>
>> dan
> >>
> >>
__________________________________
>
>> Daniel J. G. Lahr
> >>
PhD, Assist. Prof.
> >> Dept of
Zoology, Univ. of Sao Paulo,
> Brazil
Office number: + 55 (11)
> >>
> 3091 0948 http://www.ib.usp.br/zoologia/lahr/
> >>
>
>>
> >> On Mon, Apr 13,
2015 at 10:08 PM,
> Stephen Thorpe
> >> <stephen_thorpe at yahoo.co.nz
> >>> wrote:
> >>> Doug Yanega said [Quote]So,
if
> Zootaxa went from 25% of all names
to
> >>> 100%,
...?[Unquote]
> >>>
> >>> It
>
might not look too good if the ICZN ever tried to declare
> Zootaxa
>
>>> as the sole valid
>
journal for zoological nomenclature, since it is
> >>> privately owned by an
ICZN
> commissioner. Even if he sold
it
> >>> beforehand, its
market value would
> be greatly
increased if this were
> >>>
known
> >> to
> be in the pipeline.
> >>> At least it
> would solve the problem that the
electronic amendment
> >>>
seems to have been written with
> the
Zootaxa publishing model firmly
>
>>> in mind (and little or no thought
> given to other publishing models),
> >>> though one could perhaps
see the
> whole thing as someone
playing a
> >>> long game for
personal gain.
> I'm not
suggesting, of course, that
>
>>> this is the case, but only that it
> might look that way.
> >>>
>
>>> Also, the microbiology system is a
> bit pointless. It simply creates
> >>> two different systems of
> nomenclature, one just slightly more
> >>> "official" than
the
> other. For most intents and
purposes, candidatus
> >>>
names are just fine as names for
>
taxa, and their validation in IJSEM
>
>>> adds nothing but a bureaucratic
> rubber stamp. I guess that there is
> >>> a bit of bureaucrat in
every
> scientist, defines as making
things
> >>> overly
complicated for no
> practical gain.
> >>>
>
>>> Stephen
> >>>
> >>>
>
--------------------------------------------
> >>> On Tue, 14/4/15, Doug
Yanega
> <dyanega at ucr.edu>
> wrote:
>
>>>
>
>>> Subject: Re:
>
[Taxacom] are journal-ranking algorithms code-compliant?
> >>> To: "Roderic
> Page" <Roderic.Page at glasgow.ac.uk>,
> "TAXACOM" <
> >>> taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
> >>> Received: Tuesday,
14
> April, 2015, 1:18 PM
> >>>
>
>>> On 4/13/15 4:44
>
PM,
> >>> Roderic Page
> wrote:
>
>>> > Hi
> Doug,
> >>> >
> >>> > Alas that’s
> not how
>
>>> impact
> factor
works. It’s a function of both the > number of
>
> >>>
articles published by a
> journal,
and the number of > citations,
>
>>> see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_factor
> >>> >
> >>> > Given that
> most
>
>>> taxonomic
> work is
likely to few citations (certainly > over the
>
> >>>
two-year period typically
> used when
calculating impact > factor).
>
>>> Consider Zootaxa, far
> and away the largest journal in
>
> >>> zoological
taxonomy. In 2013
> approximately a
quarter of all
> >>>
published > animal names were
>
published in Zootaxa, but its impact
>
>>> factor in the > same year
> was 1.060 >
>
>>> http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/support/impactfactor.htm
> >>> >
> >>> > A mega journal
> for
>
>>> taxonomy is
> pretty
much exactly the wrong strategy > to maximise
>
> >>> impact
factor.
> >>> >
> >>> So, if Zootaxa went
> from
>
>>> 25% of all
> names to
100%, you're saying that its impact factor
>
> >>> would
DECREASE?
> >>>
> >>> Also, while I see
> your point
>
>>> in
> terms of the
status quo, are you not among the people
> >>> advocating that
scientific names
> that are
digitally published get
>
>>> automatically linked back to their
> original publications?
> >>>
>
>>> If this becomes
>
common practice, will that not mean that every
> >>> time a scientific name
appears
> in print, it will
*automatically*
> >>> create a
trackable, quantifiable
> citation
event? This is more a
> >>>
matter of how people track
>
citations, and is *also* presumably
>
>>> subject to change as technology
> evolves. I admit that I assume it
> >>> will change to our
advantage, and
> in precisely this
way. Do you not see this happening?
>
>>>
>
>>> Sincerely,
>
>>>
> >>> --
> >>>
>
>>> Doug Yanega
>
Dept. of Entomology
> >>>
> Entomology Research Museum
> >>> Univ. of
California,
> Riverside, CA
92521-0314
> >>>
> skype: dyanega
>
>>> phone: (951)
>
>>> 827-4315 (disclaimer:
> opinions are mine, not UCR's)
> >>>
> http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html
> >>> "There are
some
> enterprises
> >>> in
> which a careful disorderliness
> >>>
>
>>>
> is the true
method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick,
> Chap. 82
>
>>>
>
>>> _______________________________________________
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> >>>
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>>> Celebrating 28 years
> of
>
>>> Taxacom in
> 2015.
> >>>
>
>>>
>
_______________________________________________
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> --
>
__________________________________________________
>
> Michael A. Ivie,
Ph.D.,
> F.R.E.S.
>
> Montana
Entomology
> Collection
> Marsh Labs, Room 50
> 1911 West Lincoln Street
> NW
> corner of
Lincoln and S.19th
> Montana State
> University
>
Bozeman, MT 59717
> USA
>
> (406)
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>
(406) 994-6029 (FAX)
> mivie at montana.edu
>
>
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