Bradford’s Law of Scattering

Bradford’s Law of Scattering

Bradford’s Law of Scattering is a principle in information science that describes the distribution of articles in scientific journals. The law was named after Samuel C. Bradford, who first described it in a paper published in 1934.

Bradford’s Law states that the number of journals in a particular field that contain a given percentage of all articles published in that field is proportional to the reciprocal of the square of the percentile rank of the articles. In other words, the most productive journals in a field will contain a disproportionate number of articles, while the least productive journals will contain relatively few articles.

For example, if you were studying the field of computer science, Bradford’s Law would predict that the top 10% of journals in the field would contain approximately 70% of all articles published in that field. Conversely, the bottom 50% of journals in the field would contain only about 3% of all articles.

Bradford’s Law is often used as a tool for librarians and information scientists to help them identify the most important journals in a given field and to allocate library resources effectively. By understanding the distribution of articles across journals, librarians can make informed decisions about which journals to subscribe to and which journals to prioritize when purchasing articles.

In conclusion, Bradford’s Law of Scattering is a principle in information science that describes the distribution of articles in scientific journals. It is a useful tool for librarians and information scientists in helping them to identify the most important journals in a given field and to allocate library resources effectively.