Informetrics
Informetrics
Information , in its most restricted technical sense , is a sequence of symbols that can be interpreted as a message . Information can be recorded as signs , or transmitted as signals . Information is any kind of event that affects the state of adynamic system . Conceptually , information is the message being conveyed . The English word was apparently derived from the Latin stem ( information- ) of the nominative ( information ): this noun is in its turn derived from the verb " informare " ( to inform ) in the sense of " to give form to the mind ", " to discipline ", " instruct ", " teach ":. Metrics means measuring . Informetrics is the study of quantitative aspects of information . This includes the production , dissemination and use of all forms of information , regardless of its form or origin .
According to Brookes ( 9 ) the word ‘ Informetrics ’ was first proposed by Otto Nacke of West Germany in 1979 . FID constituted a committee with this name and Nacke was its first Chairman . Rajan ( 26 ), the next Chairman of the Committee , reformulated the objectives of informetrics as to ( 1 ) provide reliable data for research and development , policy-making , planning ; ( 2 ) to evaluate institutions , projects , articles , products , and other academic activities , and ( 3 ) to identify or to develop the techniques to trace the origins and development of concepts . In a short communication on “ Informetrics vis-àvis Bibliometrics : Scope and its Development ”, Ravichandra Rao ( 29 ) mentioned that it is a field wherein the flow of information and behavior of information are analyzed , measured and quantitative relationships are established . It is a scientific field wherein the developments of measurement of impact of information are assessed continuously . Bibliometrics may therefore be treated as synonymous to informetrics having a scope to analyze quantitative characteristics of information . An FID Committee constituted with broadly defined objectives in the provision of research and technical data subsequently gave this name .
Third International conference on Informetrics was held in Bangalore in 1991 .
�I�for�etrics� �as used as a ge�eric ter� to �ea� “ The use a�d de�elop�e�t of a variety of measures to study and analyse several properties of information in general and documents in particular the study of the quantitative aspects of information in any form , not just records or bibliographies . Informetrics is the study of quantitative aspects of information . This includes the production , dissemination and use of all forms of information , regardless of its form or origin . As such , informetrics encompasses the fields of which studies quantitative aspects of science . It is mostly concerned with development of models to explain and identify the various characteristics of the literature . It also discusses scientific productivity , collaborative research , etc .