How to use this book

0.1 Reading paths

The book is structured so that you can read it linearly — front to back — or jump straight to the chapter that answers your current question. If you do not yet know which method fits your problem, start with the Find Your Method navigator (Chapter 1). It maps typical research questions (“evaluate a journal portfolio”, “detect emerging topics”, “study collaboration patterns”) to the chapters and case studies that demonstrate the relevant techniques.

0.2 Code chunks

Every analytical claim is paired with a runnable R chunk. Chunks are labelled (label), and figures use fig.cap / fig.alt so the book remains accessible. Chunks that need network access, paid credentials, or interactive widgets are marked eval = FALSE and document what is required to run them locally.

0.3 Callouts

Three callout styles appear throughout:

A blue callout flags a clarification or aside.
An orange callout flags a limitation or responsible-use note — read these.
A red callout flags a common pitfall that has tripped up working scientometricians.

0.4 Companion data

Small sample datasets that the chapters fall back to (when a live API call is not appropriate) are bundled with the companion R package scientometricsInR. Larger illustrative corpora live under data/ in the source repository.

0.5 Downloads

The sidebar’s Download menu gives you the whole book as a PDF or EPUB. Each chapter page also exposes a Download this chapter (PDF) button at the top right.

0.6 Citation

If the book is useful to your research, please cite it — the suggested form lives in the Impressum, and a BibTeX block is in the README.

This book was built by the bookdown R package.