Welcome to Metrics: A New Open-Access Journal

As science has expanded in size and recognition as the dominant driver of innovation and economic growth, the need for studies to analyze and characterize the contributions made by research in each field of knowledge and related research areas from a critical standpoint has become increasingly prominent in international journals. These include publications and development phases, analysis trends in the research field or discipline, providing evidence for the impact of individual research or a research field, finding new and emerging areas of research, identifying potential research institutions and collaborators, and identifying suitable sources in which to publish.

Under this context, building literature metrics is key to science and technology measurement. In this regard, bibliometrics is often used in the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities to undertake quantitative analysis of the scientific and technical outputs of individuals, research teams, institutions, and countries. It employs mathematical and statistical methods to measure the output of individuals/research teams, institutions, and countries, identify national and international networks, and map the development of new (multi-disciplinary) fields of science and technology [1].

This term has evolved over time to encompass both scientometrics and informetrics. However, these are not necessarily synonymous, as they refer to component fields related to the study of the dynamics of different disciplines as reflected in their respective literature. Additionally, there is an emerging literature that adapts the methodologies and techniques of the three aforementioned metric fields to other fields, such as that of electronic information on the World Wide Web (webometrics) [2].

In any case, the metric is not limited to the presentation of numerical data and subsequent analysis. The selection of an appropriate metric is dependent upon the synthesis of multiple directions of evidence and data. The establishment of benchmarks and standards in the evaluation of science and technology and their implementation with real data represent the completion of the system.

The journal Metrics is intended to function as a leading forum for the dissemination of comprehensive research in the domains of bibliometrics, scientometrics, informetrics, webometrics, patentometrics, altmetrics, and research evaluation. It seeks to facilitate the integration of scientific discovery and its measurement and representation, with a view to identifying new research patterns. This issue will be examined from both a theoretical and a practical standpoint. By focusing on these two aspects, the journal facilitates the transfer of knowledge, identifies future research trends in the field of knowledge, and promotes new ways of evaluating and mapping science in different topics, especially the new trends in using emerging technologies and new mathematical, statistical, or econometrical methods. The journal actively encourages the submission of studies on new theoretical models for evaluation and mapping while addressing the practical challenges and applications inherent to these models.

The journal’s scope encompasses a wide array of topics within the domain of evaluating and mapping science. The objective is to provide comprehensive coverage of the multifaceted scientific, technological, and application-based aspects of prior literature. The principal subject areas include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Informetrics;
• Bibliometrics;
• Altmetrics;
• Webometrics;
• Research evaluation;
• Innovative methods to map and evaluate research.

The journal Metrics welcomes submissions from scholars in a range of disciplines who are engaged in research on new or revised approaches to evaluating and mapping science. We would be grateful for your assistance in making the journal a success by contributing your valuable research and practical insights in the field.