An empirical examination of the existing models for Bradford's law

摘要

All the existing models for Bradford's law were summarized and classified into different categories (e.g., rank-frequency cumulative, rank-frequency noncumulative, size-frequency, and other forms). The relationships between some models were established by mathematical deduction. Nineteen data sets were used to estimate the parameters of the models and then goodness of fit tests were conducted to identify empirically the model in each category which can best describe the phenomenon of journal productivity.