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From: roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith)
Newsgroups: sci.math,sci.research
Subject: Re: How many people read an average research paper?
Message-ID: <2483@phri.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 6-Nov-86 09:45:14 EST
Article-I.D.: phri.2483
Posted: Thu Nov  6 09:45:14 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 8-Nov-86 06:36:17 EST
References: <7966@watdaisy.UUCP>
Reply-To: roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith)
Distribution: sci
Organization: Public Health Research Inst. (NY, NY)
Lines: 21
Keywords: Science Citation Index
Xref: watmath sci.math:142 sci.research:14

In article <7966@watdaisy.UUCP> jkpachl@watdaisy.UUCP (Jan Pachl) writes:
> 
> Other related questions (e.g. "how many research papers quote
> an average research paper?") are much easier to formulate
> precisely (and to answer), but they are not as interesting.

	Actually, this question has in fact been answered.  Science
Citation Index (put out by ISI Press, I believe; the same people who bring
you Current Contents) list papers according to citations.  This is usually
a excellent way to do library research -- start with a paper that you're
interested in and trace out a chain of people who have cited that paper.
ISI lists each year the papers which get cited the most often.  That's
really the only way to say "this was an important piece of work".  If more
people have cited your paper than any other paper, it's probably the most
important.
-- 
Roy Smith, {allegra,philabs}!phri!roy
System Administrator, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016

"you can't spell unix without deoxyribonucleic!"