bibliometrics

noun, plural in form but singular in construction

bib·​lio·​met·​rics ˌbi-blē-ə-ˈme-triks 

-blē-ō-

: the application of statistical methods to the study of bibliographic data

How many publishing scientists know anything at all about citation networks … bibliometrics, or even basic information retrieval?

—Donald A. Windsor, Chemical & Engineering News, 18 Nov. 1974

Two of the primary concerns of information scientists have been information retrieval and bibliometrics.

—Fred Lerner, The Story of Libraries, (1945) 1998

… growing scientific opportunities confront governments with increasingly tough choices of where to focus support. Bibliometrics appears to provide a powerful management tool to help make such decisions.

—Lee Elliot Major, The Guardian (London), 16 June 1998

bibliometric

ˌbi-blē-ə-ˈme-trik 

-blē-ō-

adjective

Quite apart from being a very useful text, this is an interesting book simply in which to follow the process of bibliometric analysis.

—British Book News, May 1978

bibliometric data

The publishing statistics …, however, show that in the early seventeenth century Englishmen bought several million long books describing in great detail precisely the ideas which Haigh argues they did not know. The bibliometric evidence thus leaves little doubt that a sizeable group of Englishmen had learned the core ideas of Protestantism very well indeed.

—Kari Konkola et al., History Today, October 2003

Word History

First Known Use

1969, in the meaning defined above

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