THE CITATION CHARACTERISTICS OF ASTRONOMICAL RESEARCH LITERATURE

Abstract

The citation characteristics of papers in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (especially for the years 1963–5) have been examined as a means of studying the usage of astronomical literature in the United Kingdom. The decrease of usage with age has been investigated and the decay half‐life determined. Particular attention has been paid to the immediacy effect, and to its possible variation in different sub‐fields of astronomy. The citations have also been separated according to journal of origin. As a result of this study, a quantitative estimate has been made of the titles and backruns that are required to satisfy a given percentage of the demand for astronomical research literature in this country.