Citation Indexes In Sociological And Historical Research / quote 3 of 4
Importance of citation indexing
...interest in using citation indexes for retrieval and dissemination is equaled, if not exceeded, by the interest in its use for sociological and historical research. Indeed, Newell stated: ‘ ‘Ci-tation Indexing will generate a spate of empirical work on the sociology of sci- ence..., It is rather easy to predict, I think, that the publication and wide availability of an extensive citation in- dex will have strong social consequences along the line of becoming a controlling variable for the advancement and employment of scientific personnel . . . . It makes little difference whether one likes this or not.’