Defining mainstream literature: the case of energy policy of the European Union

Defining mainstream literature: the case of energy policy of the European Union

Several approaches are available to define the mainstream academic literature in a certain subdiscipline. However the sustainability of the findings of those searches is still an open issue. The paper addresses this problem by examining two approaches to defining the mainstream literature on a certain topic. In the first case, it verifies the approach of creation of the list of the most influential scientific publications using the “times-cited” and H-index as two of the main criteria. In the second case, the study applies a bibliometric approach by examining 90 academic articles on energy policy of the European Union published in 2013–2015. The study shows that former approach may lead to unsustainable search results as they are dependent on time when the search was completed. The search using bibliometric approach ensures sustainable results as they are not time-dependent. It produces the list of the most influential 28 academic sources on the topic that will not change through time if one applies the same sample of articles. The both approaches use the ISI Web of Science database. But as the latter uses the older version of the database, the search is limited to the articles published not later than 2015. The both approaches examine articles in English only. Therefore the paper provides general reflections on objectivity of such findings in a broader context of the study of energy policy of the EU.

Определение литературы основного направления: пример энергетической политики Европейского Союза

Учёные используют несколько способов поиска научной литературы основного направления в рамках определённых подотраслей науки. Однако надёжность результатов таких поисков может быть подвергнуто сомнению. Эта статья пробует решить эту проблему, применяя два подхода к поиску литературы основного направления на определённую тему. В первом случае был проверен подход к поиску наиболее влиятельных научных публикаций, используя главными критериями такие показатели как сумма цитирования и индекс Хирша. Во втором же случае был применён библиометрический подход, анализируя 90 научных статей на тему энергетической политики Европейского Союза, опубликованных в 2013–2015 гг. Результаты анализа показали, что первый подход предоставляет ненадёжные результаты, потому что они зависят от времени, когда был произведён поиск. В свою очередь, библиометрический подход обеспечивает надёжные результаты, ввиду того, что они не зависят от времени. Благодаря использованию библиометрического подхода, был получен список 28 самых влиятельных научных источников на тему энергетической политики ЕС в 2013–2015 гг. Оба метода используют базу данных ISI Web of Science. В исследовании были использованы статьи только на английском языке. Дополнительно, статья знакомит с потенциалом библиометрического подхода, а также включает в себя общее размышление об объективности полученных данных в более широком контексте исследований на тему энергетической политики ЕС.

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