A basic indicator for relative contributions and a remarkable difference between a ratio of averages and an average of ratios

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Egghe Leo
Rousseau Ronald
Leo Egghe
Ronald Rousseau

Abstract

Egghe, L., & Rousseau, R. (2014). A basic indicator for relative contributions and a remarkable difference between a ratio of averages and an average of ratios. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information ScienceVol.19, no. 1: 17-22.


This article has been inspired by the activity index and problems in its proper understanding. It studies a basic relative contribution index which is placed in the context of countries’ publication contributions. Two versions are proposed: one being an average of ratios (AoR) and the other one a ratio of averages (RoA). A Lotkaian-Zipfian framework is used to model the two versions of the proposed indicator. A remarkable difference between the two approaches (RoA vs. AoR) is found when determining the fraction of units (countries) that have a value larger than one. This observation contributes to the understanding of the differences between these two approaches.


 

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How to Cite
Leo, E., Ronald, R., Egghe, L., & Rousseau, R. (2017). A basic indicator for relative contributions and a remarkable difference between a ratio of averages and an average of ratios. Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science, 19(1). Retrieved from http://jummec.um.edu.my/index.php/MJLIS/article/view/1802
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