Inciting the metric oriented humanist: Teaching bibliometrics in a faculty of humanities

In the past few decades the core of bibliometrics has predominantly been ‘scientometric’ in nature, due to the first commercial citation index having been created for scientific journals and articles. The production of citation indexes for books implies that proper education related to their use is now becoming critical. A new breed of humanistic bibliometrician can emerge successfully if well-trained lecturers are prepared to provide students with a foundation in mathematical indicator construction and a stimulating environment dedicated to problem-oriented learning. We examine some of the key principles and practices associated with teaching bibliometrics to humanists, with the aim of encouraging students to reflect upon new indicators relevant to scholarly research outputs across the humanities. Emphasis is placed on the “biblio” in bibliometrics (i.e., books), digital record-keeping across the humanities, the work of humanists who have sought to explain the development of new knowledge through objective pattern-seeking, and the complementary value of alternative versus traditional indicators of scholarly research performance.