A historical overview of bibliometrics

Abstract

Bibliometrics is one of the few methods that analyze data on a large scale. The development and growth of bibliometrics as an area of research have been remarkable in recent decades. However, bibliometrics is not a new phenomenon as it originated from statistical bibliography. The primary purpose of this chapter is to present a historical view of bibliometrics as well as the significant events that took place in this field from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth century (1870-1980). The chapter will explore 116 years to illustrate the advent of bibliometrics, its essential definitions, its pioneers, its theories, and the influential works of this field, from 1873 to the end of 1989.