Bornmann Lutz, Haunschild Robin
Division for Science and Innovation Studies, Administrative Headquarters of the Max Planck Society, Hofgartenstr. 8, 80539 Munich, Germany.
Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Heisenbergstraße 1, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
Scientometrics. 2017;110(2):937-943. doi: 10.1007/s11192-016-2200-2. Epub 2016 Dec 3.
When the meaning of key terms is incompatible in competing taxonomies, a revolution might occur in the field by which the established taxonomy is replaced with another. Since the key term "impact" in scientometrics seems to undergo a taxonomic change, a revolution might be taking place at present: Impact is no longer defined as impact on science alone (measured by citations), but on all sectors of society (e.g. economics, culture, or politics). In this Short Communication, we outline that the current revolution in scientometrics does not only imply a broadening of the impact perspective, but also the devaluation of quality considerations in evaluative contexts. Impact might no longer be seen as a proxy for quality, but in its original sense: the simple resonance in some sectors of society.
当关键术语在相互竞争的分类法中的含义不相容时，该领域可能会发生一场革命，即用另一种分类法取代既定的分类法。由于科学计量学中的关键术语“影响”似乎正在经历分类变化，目前可能正在发生一场革命：影响不再仅仅被定义为对科学的影响（通过引用率衡量），而是对社会所有部门（如经济、文化或政治）的影响。在本简短通讯中，我们概述了当前科学计量学的革命不仅意味着影响视角的拓宽，还意味着在评估背景下质量考量的贬值。影响可能不再被视为质量的替代指标，而是回归其原始意义：在社会某些部门的简单反响。
