Quality judgments of technical fields: Bias, marginality, and the role of the elite

W. Shrum

doi:10.1007/bf02025220

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Scientometrics

Volume/Issue:: Volume 8: Issue 1-2

Quality judgments of technical fields: Bias, marginality, and the role of the elite

Author:

W. Shrum

W. Shrum Louisiana State University Department of Sociology 70803 Baton Rouge Louisiana USA 70803 Baton Rouge Louisiana USA

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Pages:: 35–57

Online Publication Date:: 06 Aug 2005

Publication Date:: 26 Jul 1985

Article Category:: Research Article

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02025220

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Abstract

Most accounts of scientific and technological development stress the importance of quality judgments for particular technical fields. This study investigates social psychological and structural factors associated with such judgments for nineteen fields in nuclear waste and solar cell research. The results of the analysis indicate a tendency toward positive bias for fields in which researchers have been active, for this bias to be stronger in less innovative fields, and for elite membership to affect this bias in different ways depending on the nature of the system. In addition, there was no tendency for those with a high level of social contacts to others working in a field to display a positive bias, except in consensually innovative fields.

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Scientometrics

Print ISSN:: 0138-9130

Online ISSN:: 1588-2861

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Scientometrics
Language	English
Size	B5
Year of Foundation	1978
Volumes per Year	1
Issues per Year	12
Founder	Akadémiai Kiadó
Founder's Address	H-1117 Budapest, Hungary 1516 Budapest, PO Box 245.
Publisher	Akadémiai Kiadó Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Publisher's Address	H-1117 Budapest, Hungary 1516 Budapest, PO Box 245. CH-6330 Cham, Switzerland Gewerbestrasse 11.
Responsible Publisher	Chief Executive Officer, Akadémiai Kiadó
ISSN	0138-9130 (Print)
ISSN	1588-2861 (Online)