ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EPIDEMIC THEORY AND THE BRADFORD LAW OF DISPERSION
| Author | Dikeman, Robert Kenneth, 1940- | |
|---|---|---|
| metadata.dc.contributor.department | School of Library Science, CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY | |
| metadata.dc.date.accessioned | 2026-09-20T15:53:57Z | |
| Publication date | 1974 | |
| Degree level | Doctoral | |
| Abstract | Abstract : Bradford's law of dispersion and epidemic theory are two bibliographic methods that have been used productively to study subject literature. Bradford's law has been used to establish structural relationships for the periodicities of subject literature. Epidemic theory has previously been applied to author data to trace the growth or decline of subject literature. To date, no study has attempted to compare the results of these two bibliometric techniques on the same subject literature. The purpose of this study is to investigate any existing relationships between epidemic theory and the Bradford distribution for the diachronic study of symbolic logic subject literature. The bibliographic data base was gathered from (1) A Bibliography of Symbolia Legia and Additions and Corrections to "A Bibliography of Symbolic. Logic" by Alonza Church and (2) the "Reviews" section of the Journal of Symbolia Logia for the time period, 1841–1960. The periodic data was ranked by productivity by year, tabulated, and analyzed using both the Bradford law of dispersion and epidemic theory. By studying the diachronic growth of subject literature, several interesting relationships can be explored. The nearly identical nature of the epidemic curves based on periodic and author data indicates the direct interaction between the author and the periodicities in epidemic analysis. The usefulness of epidemiology theory in analyzing the periodic structure of subject literature, the stability of each recurring epidemic cycle, and the changing environmental conditions of each epidemic cycle are all demonstrated. Thus, this diachronic study of this subject literature has conclusively shown the interrelationship of the Bradford distribution and epidemic theory. Various phases of the epidemic cycle, the cumulative Bradford distributions, period studies of the Bradford distribution, and the internal structure of subject literature were also studied One immediate benefit of this study is to illustrate, for example, how the periodic structure of a subject literature can be analyzed. The use of such an analysis would. be an invaluable aid in periodical acquisitions for a research library. This study also provides the first observational evidence to support the mathematical model for information transfer that has been derived from the epidemic studies of the disease, schistosomiasis. And finally, the current dilemma of rapidly expanding subject literatures will only be solved through an understanding of the interrelationships of the structural properties of subject literatures. Any attempts to modify the current scientific literature system without an under-standing of these properties may result in its collapse. | |
| metadata.dc.identifier.other | Drupal node 4511 | |
| metadata.dc.identifier.other | https://digitalrepository.uob.edu.bh/en/dar/relationship-between-epidemic-theory-and-bradford-law-dispersion | |
| metadata.dc.identifier.uri | http://165.227.56.122/handle/123456789/7494 | |
| Language | en | |
| Link | https://digitalrepository.uob.edu.bh/en/_flysystem/fedora/2025-09/on_the_relationship_between_the_epidemic_theory_and_the_bradford_law_of_dispersion.pdf | |
| Subject | Logic, Symbolic and mathematical | |
| Subject | Bibliography--Methodology | |
| Title | ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EPIDEMIC THEORY AND THE BRADFORD LAW OF DISPERSION | |
| Type | Doctoral Dissertation |
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