Scientometrics is the field of study which concerns itself with measuring and analysing scholarly literature. Scientometrics is a sub-field of informetrics. Major research issues include the measurement of the impact of research papers and academic journals, the understanding of scientific citations, and the use of such measurements in policy and management contexts.[1] In practice there is a significant overlap between scientometrics and other scientific fields such as information systems, information science, science of science policy, sociology of science, and metascience. Critics have argued that over-reliance on scientometrics has created a system of perverse incentives, producing a publish or perish environment that leads to low-quality research.

The origin of scientometric research can be traced back to the beginning of the 19th century. However, since the early 21st century, the field is growing at an enormous pace and attracts interest far beyond the walls of universities and institutions. One of the most

One of the most recognised accomplishments in the field of Scientometrics is the development of the Impact Factor and the classic work of Eugene Garfield. He first described the Impact Factor in 1955 as a method of selecting journals for inclusion in a genetics citation index he had been developing. This eventually resulted in the publication of the Science Citation Index in 1961 as a means of linking articles together via their references. Since it was first described, journal Impact Factor has developed into a widely used bibliometric indicator.

Around the same time, Derek De Solla Price8 was working on the study of the exponential growth of science and the citation activity of scientific literature. Price published several papers describing the key elements of scientometric analysis, including work on patterns of communication between scientists and the overall history and study of science itself.

There was tremendous growth in the scientometric literature in the 1960s and since then the field of scientometrics has developed and differentiated into several specializations. These were brought together by the launch of the first journal devoted to the field, Scientometrics, founded and edited by Tibor Braun of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. One of the most notable developments is Citation Analysis9