scholarly journals How scientific papers mention grey literature: a scientometric study based on Scopus data

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim Schöpfel ◽  
Hélène Prost

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical insight into the use of the term and concept of grey literature in recent scientific papers. Design/methodology/approach The author conducted a scientometric analysis with Scopus data on 1,606 papers mentioning grey (or gray) literature published in 2018. Additionally, the author analysed the evolution between 1999 and 2018, and performed a content analysis on a random subsample of 70 papers in open access. Findings The percentage of papers that mention grey literature is low (0.05%) but steadily rising. They are from over 100 countries and a long tail of institutions, covering, namely, medical and health sciences and related topics. The dominant document type is systematic reviews, defining grey literature generally thought of as “unpublished”, “not peer reviewed” and “not in databases” and meaning, most of the time, all kinds of reports and conference papers. A large variety of sources and options on how to retrieve grey literature is mentioned, including Google and Google Scholar, specialised digital libraries, relevant websites, handsearching in bibliographic references and contact with experts in the field. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to papers indexed in the Scopus database, mainly journals, written in English, with a bias in favour of medical and life sciences. Originality/value There is no recent study on the real usage of the term of grey literature in a large sample of academic papers.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Avijit Mahala ◽  
Gayatri Dwivedi ◽  
Manorama Tripathi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to spotlight the research output in the field of grey literature (GL) during the 13-year period between 2007 and 2019 as reflected in the Scopus database. Design/methodology/approach This study has used Scopus, an abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature, to collect data for the specified 13-year period. The sources, which had “grey literature” in their titles, were considered for the study and the period was from 2007 to 2019. The downloaded results were analysed using specific parameters. The SPSS and Excel have been used for analysing the retrieved data. The VOSviewer has been used for visualizing the network. Findings Scopus indexes different kinds of documents such as articles, books, chapters, conference papers, editorial, erratum, letters, notes, reviews and short surveys. There were 345 publications, which received 309 citations. GL-Conference Series: Conference Proceedings published the most number of articles. The majority 51.9 per cent of the articles were published in collaboration with authors from European countries. The term “grey literature” occurred most commonly as author keyword and index term. Originality/value The present study highlights how the area of GL has evolved during the 13-year period. The findings of the study pave the way for more detailed exploration of GL, which has relevance for the researchers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 963-973
Author(s):  
Vijay Kumar R ◽  
Thamizhiniyan K Thamizhiniyan K ◽  
Naseema S. Naseema S.

To date, there is no scientometric study conducted on Environmental Literacy (EL) literature. Hence, this paper aims to bridge this gap.We aimed fora holistic scientometric analysis of scientific literature available on EL, whichresulted in finding global research trends in EL research. We operatedthe following scientometric tools: VOSviewer and Bibliometrix R Package-Biblioshiny for complete science mapping analysis of the collected bibliographic data retrieved from Scopus database. We analysed the Scopus scientific research outcomes during the last 50 years. The outcome included438 total documents published and among them 354 were articles and 84 were conference papers published by1112 authors from 50 countries. The findings of this study arevital for policy makers, researchers and other working in environmental education and literacy development to understand the potential gaps and strength in the current EL research in Scopus literature.


2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bakthavachalam Elango

Purpose The aim of this study is to examine the bibliometric characteristics of literature published in Nature Nanotechnology in the first 10 years (2006-2015). Yearly output, impact factor (IF) changes, document type, top authors, institutes and countries, most cited articles were examined. Design/methodology/approach The bibliographic records related to Nature Nanotechnology were retrieved from SCIE of Web of Science. Various software tools such as HistCite, Sci2 tool, intcoll.exe and CitNetExplorer were used. Findings The results reveals that 55 per cent of publications were citable articles; average number of authors per article was 4.57; 136 per cent increase in impact factor and reviews received highest citations per paper. Harvard University had most number of publications, whereas University of Cambridge had highest CPP among the most productive institutes. Almost 50 per cent of publications were contributed by authors from the USA; 1 per cent of total publications received more than 1,000 citations. Originality/value Scientometric analysis of high impact journals has been carried out in very few. Hence, the results of the present study will be useful to compare with low impact journals.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 393
Author(s):  
Alessandro Carollo ◽  
Jan Paolo Macapinlac Balagtas ◽  
Michelle Jin-Yee Neoh ◽  
Gianluca Esposito

Research investigating the neural substrates underpinning parental behaviour has recently gained momentum. Particularly, the hypothalamic medial preoptic area (MPOA) has been identified as a crucial region for parenting. The current study conducted a scientometric analysis of publications from 1 January 1972 to 19 January 2021 using CiteSpace software to determine trends in the scientific literature exploring the relationship between MPOA and parental behaviour. In total, 677 scientific papers were analysed, producing a network of 1509 nodes and 5498 links. Four major clusters were identified: “C-Fos Expression”, “Lactating Rat”, “Medial Preoptic Area Interaction” and “Parental Behavior”. Their content suggests an initial trend in which the properties of the MPOA in response to parental behavior were studied, followed by a growing attention towards the presence of a brain network, including the reward circuits, regulating such behavior. Furthermore, while attention was initially directed uniquely to maternal behavior, it has recently been extended to the understanding of paternal behaviors as well. Finally, although the majority of the studies were conducted on rodents, recent publications broaden the implications of previous documents to human parental behavior, giving insight into the mechanisms underlying postpartum depression. Potential directions in future works were also discussed.


Toxics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 176
Author(s):  
Amid Mostafaie ◽  
Diogo N. Cardoso ◽  
Mohammadreza Kamali ◽  
Susana Loureiro

The growth of industrialization has led to an increase in the production of highly contaminated wastewater. Industrial wastewater contains highly complex compounds varying in characteristics and required to be treated before its discharge into a water medium from various industries. However, the efficiency of the treated wastewater from the toxicity reduction perspective is unclear. In order to overcome this barrier, toxicity assessment of the industrial wastewater before and after treatment is crucial. Thus, in this study, a scientometric analysis has been performed on the toxicity assessment of industrial wastewater and sludges, which have been reported in the literature. Web of Science (WoS) core collection database has been considered the main database to execute this analysis. Via the search of pre-researched keywords, a total number of 1038 documents were collected, which have been published from 1951 to 2020. Via CiteSpace software and WoS analyser, these documents went under analysis regarding some of the scientometry criteria, and the detailed results obtained are provided in this study. The total number of published documents on this topic is relatively low during such a long period of time. In conclusion, the need for more detailed contributions among the scientific and industrial communities has been felt.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 7-9
Author(s):  
Israel Odede

Purpose The paper aims to critically examine the bibliographic utility as a roadmap to increase library consortia and provide an insight into a new library consortia strategy that integrates librarians into a system of sharing both resources and knowledge. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a literature review approach with a focus on bibliographic utility as a necessary prerequisite for effective library consortia, which is a paradigm shift from the concept of individual ownership to a collective access of distributed network resources and knowledge. Findings The reviewed literature indicated that significant bibliographic utilities and integrated library systems are factors that shaped and developed consortia activities in libraries. Originality/value The bibliographic utility has limited literature, and a few published scholarly studies have combined bibliographic utility and library consortia as strategies to share resources and knowledge


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 208-223
Author(s):  
Byung Mun Lee

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the rules on the formation of contracts under Korean law and the Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) in a comparative way and introduce the relevant proposed rules under the Amendment Draft of the Korean Civil Code (KCC). In addition, it attempts to compare and evaluate them in light of the discipline of comparative law. Design/methodology/approach In order to achieve the purposes of the study, it executes a comparative study of the rules as to the formation of contracts of the CISG, Korean law and the Amendment Draft of the KCC. The basic question for this comparative study is placed on whether a solution from one jurisdiction is more logical than the others and to what extent each jurisdiction has responded to protect the reasonable expectations of the parties in the rules as to the formation of contracts. Findings The comparative study finds that most of the rules under the CISG are quite plausible and logical and they are more or less well reflected in the proposals advanced by the KCC amendment committee. On the other hand, the other rules under the CISG which have brought criticisms in terms of their complexity and inconsistent case law invite us their revision or consistent interpretation. The drawbacks of the CISG have also been well responded in the Amendment Draft of the KCC. Nevertheless, it is quite unfortunate that the Amendment Draft of the KCC still has a rule that regards any purported performance with non-material alteration of the terms of an offer as an acceptance. Originality/value This study may provide legal and practical advice to both the seller and the buyer when they enter into a contract for international sales of goods. In addition, it may render us an insight into newly developed or developing rules in this area and show us how they interact with each other. Furthermore, it may be particularly useful in Korea where there is an ongoing discussion for revision of the KCC.


2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 473-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Everard van Kemenade ◽  
Teun W. Hardjono

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to define what factors cause willingness and/or resistance among lecturers in universities towards external evaluation systems, especially accreditation.Design/methodology/approachA model has been designed to describe possible factors of willingness and/or resistance towards accreditation based on Ajzen and Metselaar. A literature review has been undertaken on the effects of external evaluation like ISO 9000 as well as accreditation systems such as Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and European Quality Improvement System. A questionnaire has been administered to a group of 63 lecturers from three departments at Fontys University in The Netherlands. The results of this preliminary survey have been presented to 1,500 academics in The Netherlands and Flanders to collect empirical data.FindingsResistance to accreditation can be found in the consequences of accreditation for the work of the lecturer (workload), negative emotions (stress and insecurity); the lack of knowledge and experience (help from specialists is needed); and lack of acceptance (other paradigm).Originality/valueThe paper provides more insight into the difficulties that organizations, especially universities, have to commit their employees to external evaluation. It might be possible to generalize the findings to other professionals in other organizations. Little research in this field has been undertaken so far.


foresight ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Baptiste Gossé ◽  
Dominique Plihon

Purpose – This article aims to provide insight into the future of financial markets and regulation in order to define what would be the best strategy for Europe. Design/methodology/approach – First the authors define the potential changes in financial markets and then the tools available for the regulator to tame them. Finally, they build five scenarios according to the main evolutions observed on the financial markets and on the tools used by the regulator to modify these trends. Findings – Among the five scenarios defined, two present highly unstable features since the regulator refuses to choose between financial opening and independently determining how to regulate finance in order to preserve financial stability. Three of them achieve financial stability. However, they are more or less efficient or feasible. In terms of market efficiency, the multi-polar scenario is the best and the fragmentation scenario is the worst, since gains of integration depend on the size of the new capital market. Regarding sovereignty of regulation, fragmentation is the best scenario and the multi-polar scenario is the worst, because it necessitates coordination at the global level which implies moving further away from respective national preferences. However, the more realistic option seems to be the regionalisation scenario: this level of coordination seems much more realistic than the global one; the market should be of sufficient size to enjoy substantial benefits of integration. Nevertheless, the “European government” might gradually increase the degree of financial integration outside Europe in line with the degree of cooperation with the rest of the world. Originality/value – Foresight studies on financial markets and regulation are quite rare. This may be explained by the difficulty to forecast what will be their evolution in the coming decades, not least because finance is fundamentally unstable. This paper provides a framework to consider what could be the best strategy of regulators in such an unstable environment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 459-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuok Ho Daniel Tang

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of a sustainable development course on the beliefs, attitudes and intentions of a cohort of engineering students in a university in Miri, Malaysia, towards sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire survey was conducted among the cohort of students encompassing the three facets mentioned. Findings The respondents expressed low to medium agreement towards all the survey items related to beliefs, attitudes and intentions. A sense of moral obligation towards sustainability is linked to higher sustainability awareness, willingness to safeguard sustainability and a sense of responsibility towards sustainable development. The respondents were generally perceived to have fundamental knowledge of sustainable development. Research limitations/implications This study shows that a sustainable development course called Engineering Sustainable Development offered in a university in Miri, produced positive impacts on the beliefs, attitudes and intentions of the engineering students towards sustainable development. Sustainable development courses are generally instrumental to impart the value and practices of sustainability among university students. Originality/value As limited correlational studies on whether sustainable development courses effectively shape the beliefs and attitudes of students have been previously conducted, this study provides insight into the effectiveness of one of such courses and how the course can be further improved to enhance its effectiveness.


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