IIG

The extensive growth of the scientific literature, in the twentieth century constitutes a mark of its strength, but also raised problems of what Derek de Solla Price called 'saturation'. In order to cope with such enormous amount of literature, researchers, and science policy makers, need appropriate methods and techniques of information retrieval, and, moreover, of presentation of what is going on in international research. The availability of on-line computerised bibliographic databases from the late sixties on, offered a considerable improvement of information retrieval facilities. However, a more inductive approach has been developed that uses such bibliographic data in order to construct 'maps' of science in order to present information on scientific activities. The methods and techniques involved in 'mapping of science' focus on two approaches: co-citation analysis and co-word analysis. This seminar would concentrate on the application of these two methods in mapping science. Bibliometric 'maps' of science helps a lot in improving information retrieval, in research management, and science policy, and as a tool in science studies, in particular in sociological and historical studies of science.

Gez. Prof. Dr. Britta Schinzel, Prof.(india) Dr.(india) Suriya M. Thevar