what is bibliographic research

Bibliography: Definition and Examples

Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

A bibliography is a list of works (such as books and articles) written on a particular subject or by a particular author. Adjective : bibliographic.

Also known as a list of works cited , a bibliography may appear at the end of a book, report , online presentation, or research paper . Students are taught that a bibliography, along with correctly formatted in-text citations, is crucial to properly citing one's research and to avoiding accusations of plagiarism . In formal research, all sources used, whether quoted directly or synopsized, should be included in the bibliography.

An annotated bibliography includes a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph (the annotation ) for each item in the list. These annotations often give more context about why a certain source may be useful or related to the topic at hand.

• Etymology:  From the Greek, "writing about books" ( biblio , "book", graph , "to write")
• Pronunciation:  bib-lee-OG-rah-fee

Examples and Observations

"Basic bibliographic information includes title, author or editor, publisher, and the year the current edition was published or copyrighted . Home librarians often like to keep track of when and where they acquired a book, the price, and a personal annotation, which would include their opinions of the book or of the person who gave it to them" (Patricia Jean Wagner, The Bloomsbury Review Booklover's Guide . Owaissa Communications, 1996)

Conventions for Documenting Sources

"It is standard practice in scholarly writing to include at the end of books or chapters and at the end of articles a list of the sources that the writer consulted or cited. Those lists, or bibliographies, often include sources that you will also want to consult. . . . "Established conventions for documenting sources vary from one academic discipline to another. The Modern Language Association (MLA) style of documentation is preferred in literature and languages. For papers in the social sciences the American Psychological Association (APA) style is preferred, whereas papers in history, philosophy, economics, political science, and business disciplines are formatted in the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) system. The Council of Biology Editors (CBE) recommends varying documentation styles for different natural sciences." (Robert DiYanni and Pat C. Hoy II, The Scribner Handbook for Writers , 3rd ed. Allyn and Bacon, 2001)

APA vs MLA Styles

There are several different styles of citations and bibliographies that you might encounter: MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, and more. As described above, each of those styles is often associated with a particular segment of academia and research. Of these, the most widely used are APA and MLA styles. They both include similar information, but arranged and formatted differently.

"In an entry for a book in an APA-style works-cited list, the date (in parentheses) immediately follows the name of the author (whose first name is written only as an initial), just the first word of the title is capitalized, and the publisher's full name is generally provided.

APA Anderson, I. (2007). This is our music: Free jazz, the sixties, and American culture . Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

By contrast, in an MLA-style entry, the author's name appears as given in the work (normally in full), every important word of the title is capitalized, some words in the publisher's name are abbreviated, the publication date follows the publisher's name, and the medium of publication is recorded. . . . In both styles, the first line of the entry is flush with the left margin, and the second and subsequent lines are indented.

MLA Anderson, Iain. This Is Our Music: Free Jazz, the Sixties, and American Culture . Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 2007. Print. The Arts and Intellectual Life in Mod. Amer.

( MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers , 7th ed. The Modern Language Association of America, 2009)

Finding Bibliographic Information for Online Sources

"For Web sources, some bibliographic information may not be available, but spend time looking for it before assuming that it doesn't exist. When information isn't available on the home page, you may have to drill into the site, following links to interior pages. Look especially for the author's name, the date of publication (or latest update), and the name of any sponsoring organization. Do not omit such information unless it is genuinely unavailable. . . . "Online articles and books sometimes include a DOI (digital object identifier). APA uses the DOI, when available, in place of a URL in reference list entries." (Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers, A Writer's Reference With Strategies for Online Learners , 7th ed. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011)

• What Is a Bibliography?
• What Is a Citation?
• MLA Bibliography or Works Cited
• What Is a Senior Thesis?
• MLA Sample Pages
• How to Write a Bibliography For a Science Fair Project
• What Is an Annotated Bibliography?
• What Is a Style Guide and Which One Do You Need?
• Turabian Style Guide With Examples
• APA In-Text Citations
• Tips for Typing an Academic Paper on a Computer
• Documentation in Reports and Research Papers
• Definition and Examples of Title Case and Headline Style
• Writing an Annotated Bibliography for a Paper
• MLA Style Parenthetical Citations
• 140 Key Copyediting Terms and What They Mean

Citation Guide

• What is a Citation?
• Citation Generator
• Chicago/Turabian Style
• Paraphrasing and Quoting
• Examples of Plagiarism

What is a Bibliography?

What is an annotated bibliography, introduction to the annotated bibliography.

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• the authors' names
• the titles of the works
• the names and locations of the companies that published your copies of the sources
• the dates your copies were published
• the page numbers of your sources (if they are part of multi-source volumes)

Ok, so what's an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is the same as a bibliography with one important difference: in an annotated bibliography, the bibliographic information is followed by a brief description of the content, quality, and usefulness of the source. For more, see the section at the bottom of this page.

What are Footnotes?

Footnotes are notes placed at the bottom of a page. They cite references or comment on a designated part of the text above it. For example, say you want to add an interesting comment to a sentence you have written, but the comment is not directly related to the argument of your paragraph. In this case, you could add the symbol for a footnote. Then, at the bottom of the page you could reprint the symbol and insert your comment. Here is an example:

This is an illustration of a footnote. 1 The number “1” at the end of the previous sentence corresponds with the note below. See how it fits in the body of the text? 1 At the bottom of the page you can insert your comments about the sentence preceding the footnote.

When your reader comes across the footnote in the main text of your paper, he or she could look down at your comments right away, or else continue reading the paragraph and read your comments at the end. Because this makes it convenient for your reader, most citation styles require that you use either footnotes or endnotes in your paper. Some, however, allow you to make parenthetical references (author, date) in the body of your work.

Footnotes are not just for interesting comments, however. Sometimes they simply refer to relevant sources -- they let your reader know where certain material came from, or where they can look for other sources on the subject. To decide whether you should cite your sources in footnotes or in the body of your paper, you should ask your instructor or see our section on citation styles.

Where does the little footnote mark go?

Whenever possible, put the footnote at the end of a sentence, immediately following the period or whatever punctuation mark completes that sentence. Skip two spaces after the footnote before you begin the next sentence. If you must include the footnote in the middle of a sentence for the sake of clarity, or because the sentence has more than one footnote (try to avoid this!), try to put it at the end of the most relevant phrase, after a comma or other punctuation mark. Otherwise, put it right at the end of the most relevant word. If the footnote is not at the end of a sentence, skip only one space after it.

What's the difference between Footnotes and Endnotes?

The only real difference is placement -- footnotes appear at the bottom of the relevant page, while endnotes all appear at the end of your document. If you want your reader to read your notes right away, footnotes are more likely to get your reader's attention. Endnotes, on the other hand, are less intrusive and will not interrupt the flow of your paper.

If I cite sources in the Footnotes (or Endnotes), how's that different from a Bibliography?

Sometimes you may be asked to include these -- especially if you have used a parenthetical style of citation. A "works cited" page is a list of all the works from which you have borrowed material. Your reader may find this more convenient than footnotes or endnotes because he or she will not have to wade through all of the comments and other information in order to see the sources from which you drew your material. A "works consulted" page is a complement to a "works cited" page, listing all of the works you used, whether they were useful or not.

Isn't a "works consulted" page the same as a "bibliography," then?

Well, yes. The title is different because "works consulted" pages are meant to complement "works cited" pages, and bibliographies may list other relevant sources in addition to those mentioned in footnotes or endnotes. Choosing to title your bibliography "Works Consulted" or "Selected Bibliography" may help specify the relevance of the sources listed.

This information has been freely provided by plagiarism.org and can be reproduced without the need to obtain any further permission as long as the URL of the original article/information is cited. 

How Do I Cite Sources? (n.d.) Retrieved October 19, 2009, from http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_how_do_i_cite_sources.html

The Importance of an Annotated Bibliography

An Annotated Bibliography is a collection of annotated citations. These annotations contain your executive notes on a source. Use the annotated bibliography to help remind you of later of the important parts of an article or book. Putting the effort into making good notes will pay dividends when it comes to writing a paper!

Good Summary

Being an executive summary, the annotated citation should be fairly brief, usually no more than one page, double spaced.

• Focus on summarizing the source in your own words.
• Avoid direct quotations from the source, at least those longer than a few words. However, if you do quote, remember to use quotation marks. You don't want to forget later on what is your own summary and what is a direct quotation!
• If an author uses a particular term or phrase that is important to the article, use that phrase within quotation marks. Remember that whenever you quote, you must explain the meaning and context of the quoted word or text. 

Common Elements of an Annotated Citation

• Summary of an Article or Book's thesis or most important points (Usually two to four sentences)
• Summary of a source's methodological approach. That is, what is the source? How does it go about proving its point(s)? Is it mostly opinion based? If it is a scholarly source, describe the research method (study, etc.) that the author used. (Usually two to five sentences)
• Your own notes and observations on the source beyond the summary. Include your initial analysis here. For example, how will you use this source? Perhaps you would write something like, "I will use this source to support my point about . . . "
• Formatting Annotated Bibliographies This guide from Purdue OWL provides examples of an annotated citation in MLA and APA formats.

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Online Guide to Writing and Research

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• Online Guide to Writing

Types of Documentation

Bibliographies and Source Lists

What is a bibliography.

A bibliography is a list of books and other source material that you have used in preparing a research paper. Sometimes these lists will include works that you consulted but did not cite specifically in your assignment. Consult the style guide required for your assignment to determine the specific title of your bibliography page as well as how to cite each source type. Bibliographies are usually placed at the end of your research paper.

What is an annotated bibliography?

A special kind of bibliography, the annotated bibliography, is often used to direct your readers to other books and resources on your topic. An instructor may ask you to prepare an annotated bibliography to help you narrow down a topic for your research assignment. Such bibliographies offer a few lines of information, typically 150-300 words, summarizing the content of the resource after the bibliographic entry.   

Example of Annotated Bibliographic Entry in MLA Style

Waddell, Marie L., Robert M. Esch, and Roberta R. Walker. The Art of Styling         Sentences: 20 Patterns for Success. 3rd ed. New York: Barron’s, 1993.         A comprehensive look at 20 sentence patterns and their variations to         teach students how to write effective sentences by imitating good style.

Mailing Address: 3501 University Blvd. East, Adelphi, MD 20783 This work is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License . © 2022 UMGC. All links to external sites were verified at the time of publication. UMGC is not responsible for the validity or integrity of information located at external sites.

Table of Contents: Online Guide to Writing

Chapter 1: College Writing

How Does College Writing Differ from Workplace Writing?

What Is College Writing?

Why So Much Emphasis on Writing?

Chapter 2: The Writing Process

Doing Exploratory Research

Getting from Notes to Your Draft

Introduction

Prewriting - Techniques to Get Started - Mining Your Intuition

Prewriting: Targeting Your Audience

Prewriting: Techniques to Get Started

Prewriting: Understanding Your Assignment

Rewriting: Being Your Own Critic

Rewriting: Creating a Revision Strategy

Rewriting: Getting Feedback

Rewriting: The Final Draft

Techniques to Get Started - Outlining

Techniques to Get Started - Using Systematic Techniques

Thesis Statement and Controlling Idea

Writing: Getting from Notes to Your Draft - Freewriting

Writing: Getting from Notes to Your Draft - Summarizing Your Ideas

Writing: Outlining What You Will Write

Chapter 3: Thinking Strategies

A Word About Style, Voice, and Tone

A Word About Style, Voice, and Tone: Style Through Vocabulary and Diction

Critical Strategies and Writing

Critical Strategies and Writing: Analysis

Critical Strategies and Writing: Evaluation

Critical Strategies and Writing: Persuasion

Critical Strategies and Writing: Synthesis

Developing a Paper Using Strategies

Kinds of Assignments You Will Write

Patterns for Presenting Information

Patterns for Presenting Information: Critiques

Patterns for Presenting Information: Discussing Raw Data

Patterns for Presenting Information: General-to-Specific Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Problem-Cause-Solution Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Specific-to-General Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Summaries and Abstracts

Supporting with Research and Examples

Writing Essay Examinations

Writing Essay Examinations: Make Your Answer Relevant and Complete

Writing Essay Examinations: Organize Thinking Before Writing

Writing Essay Examinations: Read and Understand the Question

Chapter 4: The Research Process

Planning and Writing a Research Paper

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Ask a Research Question

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Cite Sources

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Collect Evidence

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Decide Your Point of View, or Role, for Your Research

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Draw Conclusions

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Find a Topic and Get an Overview

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Manage Your Resources

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Outline

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Survey the Literature

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Work Your Sources into Your Research Writing

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Human Resources

Research Resources: What Are Research Resources?

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found?

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Electronic Resources

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Print Resources

Structuring the Research Paper: Formal Research Structure

Structuring the Research Paper: Informal Research Structure

The Nature of Research

The Research Assignment: How Should Research Sources Be Evaluated?

The Research Assignment: When Is Research Needed?

The Research Assignment: Why Perform Research?

Chapter 5: Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity

Giving Credit to Sources

Giving Credit to Sources: Copyright Laws

Giving Credit to Sources: Documentation

Giving Credit to Sources: Style Guides

Integrating Sources

Practicing Academic Integrity

Practicing Academic Integrity: Keeping Accurate Records

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Paraphrasing Your Source

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Quoting Your Source

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Summarizing Your Sources

Types of Documentation: Bibliographies and Source Lists

Types of Documentation: Citing World Wide Web Sources

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - APA Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - CSE/CBE Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - Chicago Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - MLA Style

Types of Documentation: Note Citations

Chapter 6: Using Library Resources

Finding Library Resources

Chapter 7: Assessing Your Writing

How Is Writing Graded?

How Is Writing Graded?: A General Assessment Tool

The Draft Stage

The Draft Stage: The First Draft

The Draft Stage: The Revision Process and the Final Draft

The Draft Stage: Using Feedback

The Research Stage

Using Assessment to Improve Your Writing

Chapter 8: Other Frequently Assigned Papers

Reviews and Reaction Papers: Article and Book Reviews

Reviews and Reaction Papers: Reaction Papers

Writing Arguments

Writing Arguments: Adapting the Argument Structure

Writing Arguments: Purposes of Argument

Writing Arguments: References to Consult for Writing Arguments

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Anticipate Active Opposition

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Determine Your Organization

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Develop Your Argument

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Introduce Your Argument

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - State Your Thesis or Proposition

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Write Your Conclusion

Writing Arguments: Types of Argument

Appendix A: Books to Help Improve Your Writing

Dictionaries

General Style Manuals

Researching on the Internet

Special Style Manuals

Writing Handbooks

Appendix B: Collaborative Writing and Peer Reviewing

Collaborative Writing: Assignments to Accompany the Group Project

Collaborative Writing: Informal Progress Report

Collaborative Writing: Issues to Resolve

Collaborative Writing: Methodology

Collaborative Writing: Peer Evaluation

Collaborative Writing: Tasks of Collaborative Writing Group Members

Collaborative Writing: Writing Plan

General Introduction

Peer Reviewing

Appendix C: Developing an Improvement Plan

Working with Your Instructor’s Comments and Grades

Appendix D: Writing Plan and Project Schedule

Devising a Writing Project Plan and Schedule

Reviewing Your Plan with Others

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Bibliography and Historical Research

Introduction.

• National Bibliography
• Personal Bibliography
• Corporate Bibliography
• Subject Bibliography
• Searching the Catalog for Bibliographies
• Browsing the Catalog for Bibliographies
• Other Tools for Finding Bibliographies
• Return to HPNL Website

Ask a Librarian

This guide created by Geoffrey Ross, May 4, 2017.

A bibliography is a list of documents, usually published documents like books and articles. This type of bibliography is more accurately called "enumerative bibliography". An enumerative bibliography will attempt to be as comprehensive as possible, within whatever parameters established by the bibliographer.

Bibliographies will list both secondary and primary sources. They are perhaps most valuable to historians for identifying primary sources. (They are still useful for finding secondary sources, but increasingly historians rely on electronic resources, like article databases, to locate secondary sources.)

Think of a bibliography as a guide to the source base for a specific field of inquiry. A high quality bibliography will help you understand what kinds of sources are available, but also what kinds of sources are not available (either because they were never preserved, or because they were never created in the first place).

Take for example the following bibliography:

• British Autobiographies: An Annotated Bibliography of British Autobiographies Published or Written before 1951 by William Matthews Call Number: 016.920041 M43BR Publication Date: 1955

Like many bibliographies, this one includes an introduction or prefatory essay that gives a bibliographic overview of the topic. If you were hoping to use autobiographies for a paper on medieval history, the following information from the preface would save you from wasting your time in a fruitless search:

The essay explains that autobiography does not become an important historical source until the early modern period:

Finally, the essay informs us that these early modern autobiographies are predominantly religious in nature--a useful piece of information if we were hoping to use them as evidence of, for example, the early modern textile trade:

All bibliographies are organized differently, but the best include indexes that help you pinpoint the most relevant entries.

A smart researcher will also use the index to obtain an overview of the entire source base: the index as a whole presents a broad outline of the available sources--the extent of available sources, as well as the the strengths and weaknesses of the source base. Browsing the subject index, if there is one, is often an excellent method of choosing a research topic because it enables you quickly to rule out topics that cannot be researched due to lack of primary sources.

The index to British Autobiographies , for example, tells me that I can find many autobiographies that document British social clubs (like White's and Boodle's), especially from the 19th century:

Unlike indexes you might be familiar with from non-fiction books, the indexes in bibliographies usually reference specific entries, not page numbers.

A bibliography's index will often help guide you systematically through the available sources, as in this entry which prompts you to look under related index entries for even more sources:

There are four main types of enumerative bibliography used for historical research:

Click here to learn more about bibliography as a discipline .

• Next: National Bibliography >>
• Last Updated: Jan 4, 2023 2:21 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.illinois.edu/bibliography

Bibliographic Research Skills

• Begin your research
• Conduct your research
• Select and evaluate sources
• Other research tools
• Ask a Librarian
• Bibliographic research tools

We suggest starting from SearchLib , especially if you are in a preliminary stage of finding information. Searching on the web can become more effective when your ideas are clearer and you have deepened your knowledge of the subject matter.

Here are some good reasons to start with the Library:

• Extensive and varied collections , both online and in print
• Authoritative (the authors are experts on the subject matter)
• Accurate (reliable and correct)
• Up-to-date (the most recent studies in the various disciplines)
• Relevant (pertinent to the subject areas of the University)

The time you spend searching is optimized because the resources are selected by experts, for example they may have been recommended by your professor, and are relevant to academic studies. Remember that when you search on Google you also need to select the appropriate information (and this is not always easy!)

Research tools (discovery tool and databases) that allow you to quickly retrieve and process data and information, perform statistical analysis or comparisons between companies, save what you find, and much more

24/7 access to most online resources from wherever you are 

• Librarians who can help you with your research or to whom you can simply ask for advice (also online via Teams or Zoom ... Ask a librarian! )

In order for your bibliographic search to be as comprehensive as possible, make sure that it includes a wide range of sources (for example, don't search only for articles published in a particular journal or by a specific publisher).

Use SearchLib to begin exploring the topic, and then go deeper by using specialized academic databases from our A-Z Database List .

Start your search by defining keywords . Here's how:

1. Clarify the aspects of your research topic that you want to examine , for example by limiting your investigation to:

• subject/discipline area (WHAT?) 
• geographical area (WHERE?) 
• time period (WHEN?) 
• social group (WHO?) 
• strategic aspect (HOW?) 
• and so on 

2. Determine the time frame of the publications to search: more recent (last 2, 5 years...), or further back in time?

3. Identify keywords:

• Summarize your research problem in one sentence
• Identify the fundamental concepts that describe it
• Turn concepts into keywords to be searched 

Identifying keywords is an important stage: the more relevant these keywords are, the more targeted and accurate your search results will be. It is not the number of results that matters, but the quality .  

Please remember:

• Preferably use English terms, as it is the main language of academic publications 
• Think of possible synonyms or related words (more general or more specific concepts) because they help creating search alternatives: if you find few or no results with a keyword, try searching with similar words

4. Combine the words with each other, by performing multiple searches with different combinations of words. 

Here are some examples:  Example 1 - Female Succession in the Italian Wine Industry

Key concepts: succession + women + wine industry + Italy   Possible keywords = key concepts = similar or related concepts

Example 2 – Inter-organizational relations: the evolution of Amazon's distribution chain in the last 5 years   Key concepts: Inter-organizational relations + supply chain + Amazon + last 5 years Possible keywords = key concepts = similar or related concepts

• Next: Conduct your research >>
• Last Updated: Mar 12, 2024 10:08 AM
• URL: https://unibocconi.libguides.com/bibliographicresearch

Bibliographic Research: Definition, Types, Techniques

The Bibliographic research or documentary consists in the revision of existing bibliographical material with respect to the subject to be studied. It is one of the main steps for any investigation and includes the selection of information sources.

It is considered an essential step because it includes a set of phases that encompass observation, inquiry, interpretation, reflection and analysis to obtain the necessary bases for the development of any study.

• 1 Definition
• 2 characteristics
• 3.1 Argumentative or exploratory type
• 3.2 Informative or of the expository type
• 4.1 Relevance
• 4.2 Exhaustive
• 4.3 Present
• 5.1 Accumulate references
• 5.2 Select references
• 5.3 Incorporate elements in the work plan
• 5.6 Confront and verify
• 5.7 Correct and make the final revisions
• 6.1 Primary
• 6.2 Secondary
• 6.3 Tertiary
• 7 Examples of bibliographical references
• 8 Importance
• 9 References

Different authors have been in charge of conceptualizing bibliographic research. Next, the definitions made by three prominent authors will be described:

- Guillermina Baena, graduated in Information Sciences (1985):"Documentary research is a technique that consists of the selection and collection of information through reading, critique of documents and bibliographic materials, libraries, newspaper archives and educational centers. documentation and information."

- Laura Cázares, researcher at the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico (2000):"(....) Depends primarily on the information collected or consulted in documents that can be used as a source or reference at any time or place."

- Manual of the Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador (UPEL -2005):"Integration, organization and evaluation of existing theoretical and empirical information on a problem".

characteristics

- There is a review of documents to know the state of the subject or object that is being investigated.

- Presents a process that consists in the collection, selection, analysis and presentation of the results.

- Involves complex cognitive processes, such as analysis, synthesis and deduction.

- It is done in an orderly manner and with precise objectives.

- Its purpose is the construction of knowledge.

- It supports the research that is being carried out, at the same time that it allows to avoid carrying out studies already explored.

Types of bibliographic research

In general terms, there are two types of bibliographic or documentary research:

Argumentative or exploratory type

The main objective of the researcher is to take a position on a certain topic to test whether that element to study is correct or incorrect. Consider causes, consequences and possible solutions that will lead to a conclusion more critical type.

Informative or of the expository type

Unlike the previous one, it does not seek to object to a topic but to recreate the theoretical context of the investigation. For this it uses reliable sources, and the selection and analysis of the material in question.

Criteria for the selection of material

It should be noted that it is vital for the researcher to rely on his capacity for analysis and synthesis of ideas to present a fluid and coherent work. During the bibliographic research process it is necessary to consider a series of criteria for the selection of documentary material:

It refers to the fact that the sources must be consonant with the object of study, as well as their objectives, in order to base the investigation.

All sources must be necessary, sufficient and possible, without excluding any that may also represent an important contribution. They must correspond to the objectives set.

Recent research or studies to support the research will be taken into account.

It is important to point out that before carrying out the review of documentary and bibliographic material, it is vital to be clear about the following:

- Determine the subject to be studied, which must be combined with the possibilities of the researcher, framed in a prudential time with future projection and with a connection to his area of ​​study.

- After this, make a work plan that will serve as a guide for the correct selection of bibliography.

The process of collecting data, information and documents is complex and requires a series of steps for the correct handling of information:

Accumulate references

The references include any type of written or audiovisual document that will be essential to support the investigation.

Select references

The material that respects the quality and current standards will be chosen.

Incorporate elements in the work plan

It deals with the organization of the chosen documents in alphabetical or chronological order.

It refers to the emptying of the basic information of the collected material, where the appointment to be used, the summary and the comment made by the researcher will be collected.

Placement of specific data.

Confront and verify

The aim is to determine if, indeed, the hypothesis raised by the author is valid, based on the information collected.

Correct and make the final revisions

It refers to the latest arrangements made to the form and background of the investigation.

Types of documents

To simplify the search and make it easier, three types of documents are classified:

They transmit direct information. For example, original articles and doctoral theses.

They make reference to the primary documents and extract the author and the type of publication. For example, catalogs and databases.

They synthesize the information found in the primary and secondary documents to answer questions and specific questions.

Likewise, another type of document classification can be included:

- Books and monographs: manuals, texts, minutes, anthologies.

- Periodicals: magazines, newspapers, advances.

- Reference publications: indexes, databases, bibliographies.

- Technical publications: standards, patents, technical catalogs.

- Reference material: encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlas.

Examples of bibliographical references

In bibliographic research it is necessary to respect the rules related to the citation of texts. To have a better reference in this regard, here are some examples:

-"Pinillos, José Luis (1975). Principles of Psychology. Madrid: Alliance."

-"Taylor, S. and Bogdan, R. (1992). Introduction to qualitative research methods. Barcelona: Paidós."

- When it is a chapter of a book:"Martí, Eduardo (1999). Metacognition and learning strategies. In: J Pozo and C. Monereo (Coords.). The strategic learning. (111-121). Madrid: Classroom XXI-Santillana".

- Scientific journal article:"García Jiménez, E. (1998). A practical theory about evaluation. Journal of Education, 287, 233-253."

- Article signed in a newspaper:"Debesa, Fabián (200, March 12). Careers and their entry strategies. Clarín, Education Section, p.12".

- Any field of study needs constant study and research.

- It is estimated that, thanks to documentary and bibliographic research, it is possible to achieve a good educational training at all levels.

- The progress of scientific studies needs documentation.

- To start any type of study it is necessary to review previous material to carry out the investigation.

• What is the bibliographic review? (s.f.). In Philosophia, Scientia et Praxis. Retrieved: March 1, 2018. In Philosophia, Scientia et Praxis de filoncien.blogspot.pe.
• About bibliographic and documentary research. (2013). In Thesis Guide. Retrieved: March 1, 2018. In Thesis Guide of guiadetesis.wordpress.com.
• Córdoba González, Saray. (s.f.). The bibliographic research . In Ucrindex. Retrieved: 01 d March 2018. In Ucrindex of ucrindex.ucr.ac.cr.
• Definitions Documentary Investigation. (s.f.). In Scribd. Retrieved: March 1, 2018. On Scribd from es.scribd.com.
• Bibliographic research. (s.f.). In Monographs. Retrieved: March 1, 2018. Monographs of monographs.com.
• Mora De Labastida, Natalia. (s.f.). The bibliographical investigation. Main and secondary ideas . In Fido. Retrieved: March 1, 2018. In Fido from fido.palermo.edu.
• Types of research. (s.f.). In research thesis. Retrieved: March 1, 2018. In research thesis of tesisdeinvestig.blogspot.pe.

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Research Process: Bibliographic Information

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Bibliographic Information

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What is a bibliography?

A bibliography is a list of works on a subject or by an author that were used or consulted to write a research paper, book or article. It can also be referred to as a list of works cited. It is usually found at the end of a book, article or research paper. 

Gathering Information

Regardless of what citation style is being used, there are key pieces of information that need to be collected in order to create the citation.

For books and/or journals:

• Author name
• Title of publication 
• Article title (if using a journal)
• Date of publication
• Place of publication
• Volume number of a journal, magazine or encyclopedia
• Page number(s)

For websites:

• Author and/or editor name
• Title of the website
• Company or organization that owns or posts to the website
• URL (website address)
• Date of access 

This section provides two examples of the most common cited sources: a print book and an online journal retrieved from a research database. 

Book - Print

For print books, bibliographic information can be found on the  TITLE PAGE . This page has the complete title of the book, author(s) and publication information.

The publisher information will vary according to the publisher - sometimes this page will include the name of the publisher, the place of publication and the date.

For this example :  Book title: HTML, XHTML, and CSS Bible Author: Steven M. Schafer Publisher: Wiley Publications, Inc.

If you cannot find the place or date of publication on the title page, refer to the  COPYRIGHT PAGE  for this information. The copyright page is the page behind the title page, usually written in a small font, it carries the copyright notice, edition information, publication information, printing history, cataloging data, and the ISBN number.

For this example : Place of publication: Indianapolis, IN Date of publication: 2010

Article - Academic OneFile Database

In the article view:

Bibliographic information can be found under the article title, at the top of the page. The information provided in this area is  NOT  formatted according to any style.

Citations can also be found at the bottom of the page; in an area titled  SOURCE CITATION . The database does not specify which style is used in creating this citation, so be sure to double check it against the style rules for accuracy.

Article - ProQuest Database

Bibliographic information can be found under the article title, at the top of the page. The information provided in this area is  NOT  formatted according to any style. 

Bibliographic information can also be found at the bottom of the page; in an area titled  INDEXING . (Not all the information provided in this area is necessary for creating citations, refer to the rules of the style being used for what information is needed.)

Other databases have similar formats - look for bibliographic information under the article titles and below the article body, towards the bottom of the page. 

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Chapter 13: Works Cited

What is Bibliographic Information?

Bibliographic information refers to specific elements such as the author’s name, the title of the thing (book, documentary, journal article) and the date it was created. Author + Title + Date are the most common pieces of information and they are often found on a book’s title page and the back of the title page, also known as the verso. Often the date is found on the verso.

For example:

Verso of title page

© 2015 Chelsea Vowel

APA reference for this book

Vowel, C. (2016). Indigenous writes: A guide to First nations, Métis, and Inuit issues in Canada . HighWater Press.

MLA reference for this book

Vowel, Chelsea. Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Issues in Canada . HighWater Press, 2016.

The exact bits of information you need depends on the type of resource being cited.

Bibliographic information for a journal article includes

• publication date
• a volume number, and sometimes an issue number.
• the title of the journal
• the title of the article

This screenshot shows bibliographic information for online journal article published in a journal called The American Sociologist

APA reference for this journal article

Deflem, M. (2013). Professor goes gaga: Teaching Lady Gaga and the sociology of fame. The American Sociologist, 44(2), 117-131.   doi: 10.1007/s12108-013-9180-y

MLA reference for this journal article

Deflem, Mathieu. “Professor Goes Gaga: Teaching Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame.” The American Sociologist, vol. 44, no.2, (2013), pp. 117-131.  doi: 10.1007/s12108-013-9180-y

Bibliographic information for a chapter in a book includes 2 titles — the chapter title and the book title.

APA reference for this chapter in an online book

Snively, G., & Corsiglia, J. (2016). Indigenous science: proven, practical and timeless. In G. Snively & Wanosts’a7 Lorna Williams (Eds.), Knowing Home: Braiding Indigenous Science with Western Science , Book 1. Victoria: University of Victoria.

Chapter 6 – Indigenous Science: Proven, Practical and Timeless

MLA reference for this chapter in an online book

Snively, Gloria and John Corsiglia. “Indigenous Science: Proven, Practical and Timeless.” Knowing Home: Braiding Indigenous Science with Western Science , Book 1, edited by Gloria Snively and Wanosts’a7 Lorna Williams, University of Victoria, 2016.

pressbooks.bccampus.ca/knowinghome/chapter/chapter-6/

Bibliographic information for a resource on the web may include a URL or DOI – digital object identifier.

APA reference for this online resource

Conover, M. D., Ferrara, E., Menczer, F., & Flammini, A. (2013). The digital evolution of Occupy Wall Street. PloS One , 8(5). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0064679

MLA reference for this online resource

Conover, Michael D., et al. “The Digital Evolution of Occupy Wall Street.” PloS One , vol. 8, no. 5, 2013. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0064679

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• Bibliography

If you are using Chicago style footnotes or endnotes, you should include a bibliography at the end of your paper that provides complete citation information for all of the sources you cite in your paper. Bibliography entries are formatted differently from notes. For bibliography entries, you list the sources alphabetically by last name, so you will list the last name of the author or creator first in each entry. You should single-space within a bibliography entry and double-space between them. When an entry goes longer than one line, use a hanging indent of .5 inches for subsequent lines. Here’s a link to a sample bibliography that shows layout and spacing . You can find a sample of note format here .

Complete note vs. shortened note

Here’s an example of a complete note and a shortened version of a note for a book:

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), 27-35.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated , 27-35.

Note vs. Bibliography entry

The bibliography entry that corresponds with each note is very similar to the longer version of the note, except that the author’s last and first name are reversed in the bibliography entry. To see differences between note and bibliography entries for different types of sources, check this section of the Chicago Manual of Style .

For Liquidated , the bibliography entry would look like this:

Ho, Karen, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009.

Citing a source with two or three authors

If you are citing a source with two or three authors, list their names in your note in the order they appear in the original source. In the bibliography, invert only the name of the first author and use “and” before the last named author.

1. Melissa Borja and Jacob Gibson, “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics: The Case of Evangelical Responses to Southeast Asian Refugees,” The Review of Faith & International Affairs 17, no. 3 (2019): 80-81, https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2019.1643983 .

Shortened note:

1. Borja and Gibson, “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics,” 80-81.

Bibliography:

Borja, Melissa, and Jacob Gibson. “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics: The Case of Evangelical Responses to Southeast Asian Refugees.” The Review of Faith & International Affairs 17. no. 3 (2019): 80–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2019.1643983 .

Citing a source with more than three authors

If you are citing a source with more than three authors, include all of them in the bibliography, but only include the first one in the note, followed by et al. ( et al. is the shortened form of the Latin et alia , which means “and others”).

1. Justine M. Nagurney, et al., “Risk Factors for Disability After Emergency Department Discharge in Older Adults,” Academic Emergency Medicine 27, no. 12 (2020): 1271.

Short version of note:

1. Justine M. Nagurney, et al., “Risk Factors for Disability,” 1271.

Nagurney, Justine M., Ling Han, Linda Leo‐Summers, Heather G. Allore, Thomas M. Gill, and Ula Hwang. “Risk Factors for Disability After Emergency Department Discharge in Older Adults.” Academic Emergency Medicine 27, no. 12 (2020): 1270–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.14088 .

Citing a book consulted online

If you are citing a book you consulted online, you should include a URL, DOI, or the name of the database where you found the book.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), 27-35, https://doi-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/10.1215/9780822391371 .

Bibliography entry:

Ho, Karen. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. https://doi-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/10.1215/9780822391371 .

Citing an e-book consulted outside of a database

If you are citing an e-book that you accessed outside of a database, you should indicate the format. If you read the book in a format without fixed page numbers (like Kindle, for example), you should not include the page numbers that you saw as you read. Instead, include chapter or section numbers, if possible.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), chap. 2, Kindle.

Ho, Karen. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. Kindle.

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Evaluating Bibliographic Citations

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A bibliographic citation provides relevant information about the author and publication as well as a short summary of the text, usually known as the abstract. Depending on where you find your information, the bibliographic citation will vary.

Before you spend a lot of time reading a source, begin by looking at the following information in the citation to evaluate whether it's worth pursuing.

Consider the author, the title of the work, the summary, where it is (e.g., a book, an academic journal, a blog, a social media site), and the timeliness of the entry. You may also want to look at the keywords to see what other categories the work falls into. Evaluate this information to see if it is relevant and valid for your research.

Library Catalog

When searching for sources in a library catalog, the bibliographic citation will often include the author, the publisher, and the physical location of the source in the library (see image below). Using a library catalog is helpful if you are looking for print sources for your research.

Example of bibliographic citations in a library catalog.

Once you find the bibliographic citation, take a look at the author and the publisher. Has this author published other works? Does the publisher list other publications on their website? If you are still uncertain about the credibility, locate the physical source and read bits of it to see if it contains information that’s relevant to your research.

Online Databases

When searching for information in online databases such as  EbscoHost  or  ProQuest , you will most likely find a bibliographic citation entry beneath the title of the source.

Examples of bibliographic citations in an online database.

If a summary or abstract is not available in the preview, often you can click on the source and view more details (see image below).

Sample extended bibliographic citation and abstract.

Different websites contain different levels of bibliographic citations. Sometimes it’s possible to find complete author information, while other times you may simply have a username or an author’s initials.

Most websites list the available author information directly under the title of the article or at the bottom of the article.

Sometimes a website does not list an author. If this is the case, it’s important to determine whether the website itself seems credible. If the website is associated with a print publication, or is from a well-known organization, it is probably credible. However, you should read the article to determine whether the information seems valid. On the next page you will find more strategies for determining whether a source is credible.

Understanding the differences in bibliographic citations is an important step as you search for sources to include in your research.

How to Write a Bibliography for a Research Paper

Do not try to “wow” your instructor with a long bibliography when your instructor requests only a works cited page. It is tempting, after doing a lot of work to research a paper, to try to include summaries on each source as you write your paper so that your instructor appreciates how much work you did. That is a trap you want to avoid. MLA style, the one that is most commonly followed in high schools and university writing courses, dictates that you include only the works you actually cited in your paper—not all those that you used.

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Get 10% off with 24start discount code, assembling bibliographies and works cited.

• If your assignment calls for a bibliography, list all the sources you consulted in your research.
• If your assignment calls for a works cited or references page, include only the sources you quote, summarize, paraphrase, or mention in your paper.
• If your works cited page includes a source that you did not cite in your paper, delete it.
• All in-text citations that you used at the end of quotations, summaries, and paraphrases to credit others for their ideas,words, and work must be accompanied by a cited reference in the bibliography or works cited. These references must include specific information about the source so that your readers can identify precisely where the information came from.The citation entries on a works cited page typically include the author’s name, the name of the article, the name of the publication, the name of the publisher (for books), where it was published (for books), and when it was published.

The good news is that you do not have to memorize all the many ways the works cited entries should be written. Numerous helpful style guides are available to show you the information that should be included, in what order it should appear, and how to format it. The format often differs according to the style guide you are using. The Modern Language Association (MLA) follows a particular style that is a bit different from APA (American Psychological Association) style, and both are somewhat different from the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS). Always ask your teacher which style you should use.

A bibliography usually appears at the end of a paper on its own separate page. All bibliography entries—books, periodicals, Web sites, and nontext sources such radio broadcasts—are listed together in alphabetical order. Books and articles are alphabetized by the author’s last name.

Most teachers suggest that you follow a standard style for listing different types of sources. If your teacher asks you to use a different form, however, follow his or her instructions. Take pride in your bibliography. It represents some of the most important work you’ve done for your research paper—and using proper form shows that you are a serious and careful researcher.

Bibliography Entry for a Book

A bibliography entry for a book begins with the author’s name, which is written in this order: last name, comma, first name, period. After the author’s name comes the title of the book. If you are handwriting your bibliography, underline each title. If you are working on a computer, put the book title in italicized type. Be sure to capitalize the words in the title correctly, exactly as they are written in the book itself. Following the title is the city where the book was published, followed by a colon, the name of the publisher, a comma, the date published, and a period. Here is an example:

Format : Author’s last name, first name. Book Title. Place of publication: publisher, date of publication.

• A book with one author : Hartz, Paula.  Abortion: A Doctor’s Perspective, a Woman’s Dilemma . New York: Donald I. Fine, Inc., 1992.
• A book with two or more authors : Landis, Jean M. and Rita J. Simon.  Intelligence: Nature or Nurture?  New York: HarperCollins, 1998.

Bibliography Entry for a Periodical

A bibliography entry for a periodical differs slightly in form from a bibliography entry for a book. For a magazine article, start with the author’s last name first, followed by a comma, then the first name and a period. Next, write the title of the article in quotation marks, and include a period (or other closing punctuation) inside the closing quotation mark. The title of the magazine is next, underlined or in italic type, depending on whether you are handwriting or using a computer, followed by a period. The date and year, followed by a colon and the pages on which the article appeared, come last. Here is an example:

Format:  Author’s last name, first name. “Title of the Article.” Magazine. Month and year of publication: page numbers.

• Article in a monthly magazine : Crowley, J.E.,T.E. Levitan and R.P. Quinn.“Seven Deadly Half-Truths About Women.”  Psychology Today  March 1978: 94–106.
• Article in a weekly magazine : Schwartz, Felice N.“Management,Women, and the New Facts of Life.”  Newsweek  20 July 2006: 21–22.
• Signed newspaper article : Ferraro, Susan. “In-law and Order: Finding Relative Calm.”  The Daily News  30 June 1998: 73.
• Unsigned newspaper article : “Beanie Babies May Be a Rotten Nest Egg.”  Chicago Tribune  21 June 2004: 12.

Bibliography Entry for a Web Site

For sources such as Web sites include the information a reader needs to find the source or to know where and when you found it. Always begin with the last name of the author, broadcaster, person you interviewed, and so on. Here is an example of a bibliography for a Web site:

Format : Author.“Document Title.” Publication or Web site title. Date of publication. Date of access.

Example : Dodman, Dr. Nicholas. “Dog-Human Communication.”  Pet Place . 10 November 2006.  23 January 2014 < http://www.petplace.com/dogs/dog-human-communication-2/page1.aspx >

After completing the bibliography you can breathe a huge sigh of relief and pat yourself on the back. You probably plan to turn in your work in printed or handwritten form, but you also may be making an oral presentation. However you plan to present your paper, do your best to show it in its best light. You’ve put a great deal of work and thought into this assignment, so you want your paper to look and sound its best. You’ve completed your research paper!

Back to  How To Write A Research Paper .

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English: Bibliographic Essay

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• Bibliographic Essay

Bibliographic Essay Explanation

What is a Bibliographic Essay?

A bibliographic essay is a critical essay in which the writer identifies and evaluates the core works of research within a discipline or sub-discipline.

What is the purpose of a Bibliographic Essay?

A bibliographic essay is written to summarize and compare a number of sources on a single topic. The goal of this essay is not to prove anything about a subject, but rather to provide a general overview of the field. By looking through multiple books and articles, you can provide your reader with context for the subject you are studying, and recommend a few reputable sources on the topic.

Example of a Bibliographic Essay

• http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/goldman/pdfs/EG-AGuideToHerLife_BiographicalEssay-TheWorldofEmmaGoldman.pdf

Steps to Creating a Bibliographic Essay

• Start by searching our databases.  Think about your topic and brainstorm search terms before beginning. 
• Skim and review articles to determine whether they fit your topic.
• Evaluate your sources. 
• Statement summarizing the focus of your bibliographic essay.
• Give the title of each source following citation guidelines.
• Name the author of each source.
• Give important background information about authors, texts to be summarized, and the general topic from which the texts are drawn.
• Information from more than one source
• Use citations to indicate which material comes from which source. (Be careful not to plagiarize!)
• Show similarities and differences between the different sources.
• Represent texts fairly.
• Write a conclusion reminding the reader of the most significant themes you found and the ways they connect to the overall topic.
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Bibliometrics: Methods for studying academic publishing

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• Published: 16 December 2021
• Volume 11 , pages 173–176, ( 2022 )

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• Anton Ninkov   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8276-7656 1 ,
• Jason R. Frank   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6076-0146 2 , 3 &
• Lauren A. Maggio   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2997-6133 4  

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Bibliometrics is the study of academic publishing that uses statistics to describe publishing trends and to highlight relationships between published works. Likened to epidemiology, researchers seek to answer questions about a field based on data about publications (e.g., authors, topics, funding) in the same way that an epidemiologist queries patient data to understand the health of a population. In this Eye Opener, the authors introduce bibliometrics and define its key terminology and concepts, including relational and evaluative bibliometrics. Readers are introduced to common bibliometric methods and their related strengths and weaknesses. The authors provide examples of bibliometrics applied in health professions education and propose potential future research directions. Health professions educators are consumers of bibliometric reports and can adopt its methodologies for future studies.

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Introduction

Have you ever wondered: How can I find collaborators to study the teaching of clinical reasoning? How often do health professions education (HPE) articles draw on studies from the field of education? How can I conduct a systematic review in HPE without knowing which articles or journals “count” as being HPE? Bibliometrics can help answer these questions and more. In this Eye Opener, we describe the background of bibliometrics, highlight the methods bibliometricians use, and discuss how health professions educators have and can apply them in HPE.

Bibliometrics is the analysis of published information (e.g., books, journal articles, datasets, blogs) and its related metadata (e.g., abstracts, keywords, citations) using statistics to describe or show relationships between published works [ 1 ]. We provide key definitions of bibliometric concepts in Tab.  1 . Bibliometrics is based on the assumption that a field’s scholarly output is captured in the published literature. To frame this in a medical context, Lewison aptly wrote: “Bibliometrics is to scientific papers as epidemiology is to patients” [ 2 ]. In parallel to epidemiology, bibliometrics researchers can trace the trajectory of a topic by tracking its spread across the literature or they can determine the characteristics of journal articles that are feverishly downloaded to ascertain impact. Bibliometrics and epidemiology also share approaches in their use of rigorous statistics, conduct of cross-sectional studies, and attempts to identify correlation.

James McKeen Cattell, editor of Science from 1895–1944, is credited as the founder of the systematic collection of statistics on science, which gave birth to the field of bibliometrics [ 7 ]. Since then, bibliometricians have expanded the field, conducting important work such as developing and evaluating indicators for research impact (e.g., journal impact factor, h -index) and utilizing methods of data visualization to see the relationships between researchers or research items. While bibliometrics developed within the broader field of information science, the methods have increasingly been adopted in and applied to a variety of other disciplines—including HPE.

Bibliometrics methods

Researchers use a variety of bibliometric methods, which can be generally divided into two categories: evaluative and relational . Evaluative bibliometrics are used to describe the characteristics of published information. For example, if a researcher wants to answer the above question about finding clinical reasoning researchers or to identify the evolution of a topic, they would use evaluative bibliometrics . The journal impact factor (JIF), along with other types of impact factors (e.g., h -index) are indicators that rely on evaluative bibliometrics to articulate the impact of a research output. Based on measurements including the number of citations or publications, these impact metrics provide the means to quickly evaluate scholarly work—albeit with the caveat that these indicators have important limitations that must be considered before applying them in practice (see the Discussion for more on this).

In HPE, evaluative bibliometrics have been utilized, most commonly in the form of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, with over 400 published in HPE in the last twenty years [ 8 ]. However, HPE researchers have also adopted evaluative bibliometrics to answer a variety of questions. For example, evaluative bibliometrics was used by HPE researchers to determine how long it takes for a submitted manuscript to be published [ 9 ]. To answer this question, they downloaded from PubMed the submission and publication dates for nearly 20,000 HPE articles and computed that the average time from submission to publication was 180.93 days. Madden and colleagues provide another example in their study to understand the proportion of male and female authors across authorship positions in HPE journals in which they examined the author metadata from over 5000 authors [ 10 ]. HPE researchers have also employed bibliometrics as a component of studies that use multiple methods. For example, in a survey study researchers crafted their sample by using evaluative bibliometrics to extract the first authors of HPE articles published in the previous two years [ 11 ].

Relational bibliometrics provides “an overview of the relationships between different actors” [ 12 ]. The idea behind relational bibliometrics is that within the metadata collected on various entities (e.g., authors, papers, journals), hidden associations can be identified that facilitate understanding the set of entities at a broader level. Researchers conduct relational bibliometrics by investigating the entities’ shared metadata occurrences (e.g., citations, keywords, authors)—the more entities share metadata, the more likely they are similar in some way. If a set of articles or authors all cite the same article or group of articles, it would be possible to infer that the articles or authors are related in some way. For example, to answer the question posed in the introduction, regarding whether or not HPE authors reference the education literature, a researcher could use bibliometric coupling. This method enables researchers to examine a corpus of articles and the references that they cite. The researcher would then be able to investigate whether the cited references were published in higher education journals.

Based on our review of the literature, there are fewer examples of relational bibliometrics studies in HPE than those using evaluative bibliometrics . However, increasingly researchers have used network analysis in relation to publications and their related metadata [ 3 ]. In network analyses, nodes of a network (e.g., group of authors, journals, or institutions) are tied to each other based on various relationships they have (e.g., shared citations, authors, or keywords). By plotting the nodes of the network based on these relationships, one can examine their hidden structures [ 13 , 14 ]. For example, Peterson et al. examined an HPE research group’s productivity in relation to their external collaborations concluding that increased collaboration translated into rising productivity [ 15 ]. In another example, Young and colleagues investigate topics and trends in HPE using network analysis [ 16 ]. This limited use of relational bibliometrics signals an area ripe for future research in HPE.

Bibliometrics can impact everyone involved in HPE. By characterizing the scholarly output of HPE, bibliometrics can be used to define our field by identifying relevant journals, articles, authors, and topics. Understanding the scope of the field gives us the ability to track trends and identify gaps, but it can also confer a sense of membership to individuals that identify with the field. In HPE, which includes researchers from a variety of training backgrounds and knowledge traditions, identifying our community and its scholarship can be difficult with researchers proposing variable approaches. For example, Lee et al. attempted to define the field of medical education based on a corpus of publications retrieved when searching for “medical education” in MEDLINE [ 17 ], whereas other authors propose the use of a core set of journals based on journal impact factor [ 18 ] and presence in Web of Science [ 8 ]. This has implications for the field’s ability to build on previous scholarship and even apply for funding, suggesting now is the time for medical education to leverage the power of bibliometrics.

The future of bibliometrics is bright, and there are many opportunities for HPE scholars to incorporate bibliometrics into their research. There are many bibliometric studies that could be reproduced in HPE. Collaborators are key for bibliometric studies and adding a bibliometrician or information scientist to the author team would be incredibly valuable for their expertise in information structure and data management. Moreover, these professionals keep abreast of what is happening in bibliometrics. For example, natural language processing tools have been developed to enable researchers to automatically identify the topics in a field of study (e.g., HPE) as well as deploy such approaches in extracting data for knowledge syntheses. To connect with a bibliometrician, consider reviewing faculty biographies on information school websites or reaching out to professional associations such as the Association of Information Science and Technology.

To expand on bibliometrics, there are also emerging mixed methods opportunities that combine with qualitative methods to create a more holistic and accurate picture of scholarly communication beyond academic publishing. These methods have been coined as webometrics (analyzing the reach/impact of web content using adapted methods from bibliometrics) [ 19 ] and altmetrics (analyzing academic publishing using non-traditional metadata such as social media reach) [ 20 ]. With the technological developments of analyzing and managing big data, the potential applications of bibliometrics and related fields to HPE are immense.

While bibliometrics can be helpful, researchers must also consider its limitations [ 21 ]. When applied to analyzing a field like HPE, the accuracy of the metadata for which researchers have access is a key factor. When researchers assign value to certain publishing attributes such as citations, number of publications, or impact factors, incentives arise for researchers to publish more or in specific venues. Furthermore, there is a tendency to compare different fields of research to one another using these metrics, which can be fraught. As a result, the metrics we use to study publication habits or identify prominent researchers or institutions can become less reliable or meaningful [ 22 ]. This limitation has been well documented, in particular when it comes to metrics for measuring research output like the h -Index or journal impact factor [ 6 , 23 , 24 ].

Bibliometrics and the relevant methods for analyzing scholarly publications have been applied to HPE, but there are enormous opportunities for further development. New ways of analyzing metadata about publishing in academic medicine, especially using relational bibliometrics methods, could be helpful for delineating HPE and understanding where cross-disciplinary work is happening. In addition, adopting standards to record metadata for publications and identifying authors (e.g., ORCID) would provide greater ability to analyze and understand HPE as a field. Just as epidemiology is an essential fundamental science for the practice of medicine or nursing, health professions educators should consider adding bibliometrics to their toolkit to understand the scholarship of HPE.

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Ninkov, A., Frank, J.R. & Maggio, L.A. Bibliometrics: Methods for studying academic publishing. Perspect Med Educ 11 , 173–176 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-021-00695-4

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Research provides curated bibliographic dataset of advances in health AI research

by Health Data Science

A study published in Health Data Science introduces a curated bibliographic dataset that aims to revolutionize the landscape of Health Artificial Intelligence (AI) research. Led by Xuanyu Shi and Jian Du from Peking University, this dataset integrates a vast array of Health AI-related documents, offering an invaluable resource for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.

The dataset, encompassing publications, open research datasets, patents, grants, and clinical trials from 2009 to 2021, was meticulously curated using data from Medline and Dimensions databases. The primary objective of this study was to address the challenge of navigating the vast and rapidly evolving field of Health AI by creating a comprehensive, accessible bibliographic resource.

"Our goal was to provide a dataset that empowers the Health AI community to harness the full potential of AI technologies in improving health care outcomes," said Xuanyu Shi, a Ph.D. candidate at Peking University.

"By integrating diverse sources of information, we have created a resource that can drive further innovation and facilitate a more coherent research ecosystem."

The study's methodology involved identifying relevant documents using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and Field of Research (FoR) terms, followed by mapping these documents to various health problems and AI technologies. The result is a dataset that adheres to the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles, ensuring its utility for a wide range of applications in Health AI research.

The dataset includes 96,332 Health AI documents, with 75,820 publications, 638 open research datasets, 11,226 patents, 6,113 grants, and 2,535 clinical trials. This extensive collection is designed to facilitate horizontal scanning of funding, research, clinical assessments, and innovations within the Health AI field.

"This dataset represents a significant step forward in Health AI research," said Jian Du, Assistant Professor at Peking University. "By providing a structured and comprehensive resource, we hope to support the Health AI community in developing evidence-based policies, fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration, and ultimately improving health care outcomes."

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Abstract: With the advent of Large Language Models (LLMs), the potential of Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) techniques have garnered considerable research attention. Numerous novel algorithms and models have been introduced to enhance various aspects of RAG systems. However, the absence of a standardized framework for implementation, coupled with the inherently intricate RAG process, makes it challenging and time-consuming for researchers to compare and evaluate these approaches in a consistent environment. Existing RAG toolkits like LangChain and LlamaIndex, while available, are often heavy and unwieldy, failing to meet the personalized needs of researchers. In response to this challenge, we propose FlashRAG, an efficient and modular open-source toolkit designed to assist researchers in reproducing existing RAG methods and in developing their own RAG algorithms within a unified framework. Our toolkit implements 12 advanced RAG methods and has gathered and organized 32 benchmark datasets. Our toolkit has various features, including customizable modular framework, rich collection of pre-implemented RAG works, comprehensive datasets, efficient auxiliary pre-processing scripts, and extensive and standard evaluation metrics. Our toolkit and resources are available at this https URL .

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