The non‐Gaussian nature of bibliometric and scientometric distributions: A new approach to interpretation

Abstract

Abstract An attempt has been made to give an answer to the question: Why do most bibliometric and scientometric laws reveal characters of Non‐Gaussian distributions, i.e., have unduly long “tails”? We tried to apply the approach of the so‐called “Universal Law,” discovered by G. Stankov ( 1997 , 1998 ). The basic principle we have used here is that of the reciprocity of energy and space. A new “wave concept” of scientific information has been propounded, in which terms the well‐known bibliometric and scientometric distributions find a rather satisfactory explanation. One of the made corollaries is that α = 1 is the most reasonable value for the family of Zipf laws, applied to information or social phenomena.

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