SRELS Journal of Information Management

Vol. 47, No. 1, February 2010, Paper D. p31-39.

A BIBLIOMETRIC STUDY OF INDIAN JOURNAL OF PURE AND APPLIED

MATHEMATICS

Asha Narang1and Anil Kumar2

Bibliometric analysis of 4798 citations appended to 400 articles in five volumes-34(2003) to 38(2007) and
maiden volume (1970) of the Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics has been carried out to
observe the number of contributions and their distribution in different volumes, authorship pattern, foreign
and Indian author contributions, citation analysis and number of pages used in each volume. A comparative
study of articles published in 5 volumes vis-à-vis those in volume 1 has been made. Results indicate a
decrease in the number of contributions in successive volumes. The most cited documents are articles from
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research journals. The number of foreign contributors is more than Indian contributors. Growth and
popularity of the journal is showing mixed trends i.e. upward and downward progress.
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KEYWORDS/DESCRIPTORS: Bibliometric study, Indian Journal of Pure and Applied

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Mathematics
1 INTRODUCTION
Bibliometrics is the study dealing with qualification of written communication which helps in
the measurement of the published knowledge [1]. Bibliometric studies are gradually becoming
inter-disciplinary in nature and are used to identify the pattern of publication, authorship and
citation analysis with the hope that such regularities can give an insight into the dynamics of the
area under consideration[2].
British librarian A. Pritchard first introduced the term bibliometrics and defined it as study of
the “application of mathematics and statistical methods to books and other media of
communication” [3].
A more elaborate definition has been put forward by L. Egghe who defined it as “the
development and application of mathematical models and techniques to all aspects of
communication”[4].
2 SOURCE JOURNAL
For our study, we have chosen Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IJPAM), a
leading journal of mathematics. It started publishing in 1970 with four issues in an year, and
within two years it became bimonthly in 1972 and monthly the very next year i.e. 1973, After 34
years it once again became bimonthly in 2006. From the very beginning it attracted the attention
of the world mathematics community and started getting covered by International abstracting and
indexing services including the Science Citation Index (USA). IJPAM is bimonthly journal
published by the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi. It has been publishing original

1
Lecturer, DLIS, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab 143005, INDIA. E-mail:
ashanarang1956@yahoo.co.in.
2
Assistant Librarian, Caparo PTU School of Manufacturing and Materials Technology, Kapurthala,
Punjab 144601, INDIA. E-mail : anil_aimo7@yahoo.com

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 Asha Narang; Anil Kumar

research papers in pure and applied mathematics, statistics and related areas of mathematical
sciences such as operations research, game theory, mathematical economics, computer science,
statistics modeling, numerical analysis, pattern recognition, mathematical system etc. involving
new developments and/or applications of mathematics and statistics. In contrast to many other
journals, IJPAM mentions the date of receipt, the date of revision and date of acceptance of each
research paper. This helps in checking duplication of research results[5].
3 OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the study are as follows:
 To examine the authorship pattern of the contributions.
 To examine and study the volume-wise distribution of contributions and to find the average
number of contributions per volume.
 To study the type and number of citations.
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 To analyze the use of various types of documents by the contributors/authors.

 To observe the number of pages used in different issues of various volumes under study.
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 To compare the analysis of five volumes of IJPAM (Vol.34-38; 2003-2007) with the maiden
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volume published in 1970.

4 METHODOLOGY
Data of all the 48 issues for the five years (Vol.34-38; 2003-2007) from the source journal,
Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics and the maiden volume published in the year
1970 with 4 issues was recorded on sheets with predesigned columns. The required data like
number of authors, number of contributions in each volume, their types, affiliation of the authors
(institution-wise) and number of pages per volume were tabulated. The data was then analyzed as
per the objectives of the study.
5 ANALYSIS
5.1 Contribution Distribution
As indicated in Table 1 the total number of contributions in 48 issues of 5 volumes of the
source journal is 400 of which the highest number of contributions are in the Vol.34; i.e.
160(40%) followed by Vol.35; 115(28.75%), Vol.36; 51(12.75%), Vol.38; 46(11.5%) and
Vol.37; 28(07%).
Table 1: Distribution of Contributions (Volume-wise)
Year Vol. No. No. of Issues Contributions %
2003 34 12 160 40
2004 35 12 115 28.75
2005 36 12 51 12.75
2006 37 06 28 07
2007 38 06 46 11.5
5 Years 5 volumes 48 400 100
Table 2 presents the distribution of contributions issue-wise. It is observed that the number of
contributions is decreasing from Vol. 34 to 37 but increasing again in Vol. 38.

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 A Bibliometric Study of Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics

Table 2: Distribution of Contributions (Issue-wise)

Month Volume Number
34 35 36 37 38
January 15 12 04
February 15 14 03 03 04
March 12 12 04
April 14 11 04 05 04
May 14 12 04
June 16 10 04 05 06
July 12 10 04
August 14 08 05 05 13
September 12 07 05
October 12 08 05 05 11
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November 12 06 04
December 12 05 05 05 08
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Total 160 115 51 28 46

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5.2 Authorship Pattern

Table 3 and 4 reveal that the two-authored papers numbering 163 (40.75%) top the list in five
years, followed by single authored papers 149 (37.25%), three authored papers 77 (19.25%) and
four authored papers 11 (2.75%).
The predominance of two authored contributions is observed during all the years i.e. from
2003 to 2007. It is almost 40% every year which provides a definite pointer that team work is
more important and that authors collaborate to produce and deduce new research results.
However, the team size is small unlike the other science subjects and is mostly restricted to two
or three rarely going beyond four authors. Research in mathematics is essentially theoretical with
no experimentation. This is the reason for small team size.
Looking at the contributors parent organization, it is observed that the research is being
vigorously carried out in universities both at National and International level.
Table 3: Authorship Pattern of Contributions
No. of Authors No. of Contributions %
One 149 37.25
Two 163 40.75
Three 77 19.25
Four 11 2.75
Total 400 100
Table 4: Authorship Pattern of Contributions
Vol. One Two Three Four
% % % %
No. Author Authors Authors Author
34 61 38.13 59 36.88 37 23.12 03 1.87
35 42 36.52 56 48.69 15 13.05 02 1.74
36 17 33.33 22 43.14 09 17.64 03 5.89

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 Asha Narang; Anil Kumar

Vol. One Two Three Four

% % % %
No. Author Authors Authors Author
37 10 35.71 10 35.71 06 21.43 02 7.15
38 19 41.31 16 34.78 10 21.74 01 2.17
5 Vol. 149 37.25 163 40.75 77 19.25 11 2.75
Table 5 shows that out of a total of 137 Indian contributions, 73 contributions are from
university teachers followed by 30 contributed by college teachers.
Table 5: Indian Contributions (Institution-wise)
Vol. No. Year University College Institute Others Total
34 2003 26 12 17 04 59
35 2004 24 11 05 01 41
36 2005 12 02 02 - 16
37 2006 05 01 02 - 08
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38 2007 06 04 03 - 13
73 30 29 05 137
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Table 6 shows that out of a total of 263 foreign contributions, 225 are from universities
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followed by 17 from Institutes.

Table 6: Foreign Contributions (Institution-wise)
Vol. No. Year University College Institute Others Total
34 2003 87 03 04 06 100
35 2004 64 02 06 02 74
36 2005 30 01 03 01 35
37 2006 16 03 01 - 20
38 2007 28 03 03 - 34
225 12 17 09 263
5.3 Citation Analysis
Generally, authors cite different kinds of documents in their articles according to their
information needs. The citations comprise of articles from journals, books/ monographs, theses
and dissertations, symposia/conference proceedings, personal notes etc.
Table 7 shows that there are in all 4798 citations in 5 volumes of the source journal. Volume
34 has the maximum number of citations 1792(37.35%), next on the list is Vol.35 with 1314
(27.39%), Vol.36 with 691 (14.40%), Vol.38 with 600 (12.50%), and Vol.37 with 401 (8.36%).
This reveals the fact that authors are consulting journals and books more and more for studying,
extending, proving and presenting their research results.
Table 7: Distribution of Citations (volume-wise)
Vol. No. No. of Citations %
34 1792 37.35
35 1314 27.39
36 691 14.40
37 401 8.36
38 600 12.50
5 vols. 4798 100

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 A Bibliometric Study of Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics

Table 8 Reveals that the highest average number of citations per contribution is 14.32 in Vol.
37.
Average number of citations per contribution in 5 volumes is 4798 /400=11.99 i.e. almost 12
citations per contribution.
Table 8: Average Citations per Contribution in each Volume
Vol. No. No. of contributions No of citations Average
34 160 1792 11.2
35 115 1314 11.43
36 51 691 13.55
37 28 401 14.32
38 46 600 13.04
5 vols 400 4798 63.54
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5.4 Types of Documents Cited (Volume-wise)

Table 9 shows that 48 issues of five volumes of IJPAM contain a total of 4798 citations. On
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the basis of analysis, it was observed that mathematicians refer to journal articles the most, that is
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3717 (77.47%) citations. This is due to the fact that journals are the premier vehicle of nascent
information. Moreover scholars of mathematics give new interpretation and carry forward and
extend the research results of the earlier scholars. This is followed by books with 822 (17.13%)
citations. The remaining 259 (5.40%) citations are from other sources, which include conference
proceedings, theses and dissertations, personal notes etc.
Table 9: Types of Publications Cited (Volume-wise)
Vol. No. Books Journals Others Total
34 301 1396 95 1792
35 259 995 60 1314
36 107 528 56 691
37 58 335 08 401
38 97 463 40 600
Total 822 3717 259 4798
% 17.13 77.47 5.40 100
Table 10 shows the National and International contributions. Out of 400 contributions, Indian
contribution is 139 (34.75%) and the contribution of the other countries is 261 (65.25%)
Table 10: National and International Contributions
Contributions Vol. 34 Vol. 35 Vol. 36 Vol. 37 Vol. 38 Total
National 61 41 16 08 13 139
International 99 74 35 20 33 261
Total 160 115 51 28 46 400
5.5 Page Distribution
Table 11 and 12 present the number of pages contained in five volumes (48 Issues). It was
observed that the number of pages is decreasing from Vol. 34 to 37 and again increasing in Vol.
38.

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 Asha Narang; Anil Kumar

Table 11: Distribution of Pages (Volume-wise)

Month Volume Number
34 35 36 37 38
January 1-206 1-118 1-46
February 207-364 119-256 47-110 1-60 1-52
March 365-520 257-424 111-166
April 521-674 425-560 167-224 61-122 53-126
May 675-816 561-708 225-292
June 817-994 709-826 293-346 123-196 127-214
July 995-1128 827-936 347-404
August 1129-1284 937-1044 405-468 197-256 215-342
September 1285-1404 1045-1132 469-526
October 1405-1520 1133-1236 527-604 257-318 343-492
November 1521-1670 1237-1306 605-652
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December 1671-1844 1307-1426 653-738 319-388 493-630

Table 12: Number of Pages in Each Issue
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Month Volume Number

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34 35 36 37 38
January 206 118 46
February 158 138 63 60 52
March 156 168 55
April 154 136 57 61 73
May 142 148 67
June 178 118 53 73 87
July 134 110 57
August 156 108 63 59 127
September 120 88 57
October 116 104 77 61 149
November 150 70 47
December 174 120 85 69 137
Total 1844 1426 738 388 630
Table 13 reveals the average pages per volume per contribution.
Average pages per volume = 5026/5=1005
Average pages per Issue = 5026/48= 105
Average pages per contribution =5026/400=12.57
Table 13: Average Pages: Per Volume
Volume Number Total Pages No. of Contributions Average
34 1844 160 11.53
35 1426 115 12.4
36 738 51 14.47
37 388 28 13.86
38 630 46 13.7

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 A Bibliometric Study of Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics

5.6 Maiden Volume 1

IJPAM came into existence in 1970 and was published as quarterly. It had 70 contributions
from India and abroad in the four issues of the first volume.
Table 14 shows the distribution of contributions (Issue-wise), authorship pattern, distribution
of citations, types of publications cited and page distribution (Issue-wise).
Table 14: Maiden Volume 1 (1970)
Total Contributions –70
Distribution of contribution
1. No. of Issues =4 January-March: 13
(Issue-wise)
April-June: 16 July-September: 16
October-December: 21
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2. Authorship Pattern of contributions Single Author Two Authors

48 22
3. Distribution of Citations No. of Contributions No. of Citations
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70 470
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Average citations per contribution: 6.71

4. Types of publications Cited Books Journals Others Total
142 305 23 470
5. Distribution of pages issue-wise I II III IV
1-106 107-275 276-432 433-639
Total pages = 639, average pages per contribution = 9.12
5.7 Comparison of the Maiden Volume with the Five Volumes (Vol. 34-38)
Analysis of the data brings out the following facts:
 The periodicity of the journal has changed from quarterly at inception (1970) and
bimonthly in 1972 and monthly in 1973 and has once again become bimonthly since
2006.
 The first volume had only 70 contributions, which rose to 160 in Vol.34 and then
showing downward trend in successive volumes with 115 (Vol.35), 51 (Vol.36), 28
(Vol.37) and again showing upward trend with 46 (Vol.38).
 There was clear predominance of single authored contributions in Vol.1 (92.86%)
whereas this study reveals the predominance of two authored contributions 163 (40.7%)
followed by single authored contributions 149 (37.25%).
 The average citations per volume in the maiden volume were 6.71% whereas it is 11.99%
in the five volumes under study.
 Average pages per contribution was 9.12 in Vol. 1, and it has risen to 12.57 in the present
study moreover, Vol. 1 had 639 pages, which is 630 in Vol. 38 (2007).
 As in Vol. 1 citation of the articles from the research journals dominate in the five
volumes.
6 FINDINGS
From the analysis based on the observations of the study, it can be inferred that:

Vol. 47, No.1, February 2010 37

 Asha Narang; Anil Kumar

 As far as number of contributions is concerned, it is showing a downward trend uptill

Vol. 37, but again shows an upward trend in Vol. 38. This trend may be attributed to the
reason that in Vol. 37 only 6 issues and 28 contributions appeared, may be because very
few researchers sent in their papers to the journal but once again in Vol. 38 the number of
contributions increased and the journal began to build up its old glory.
 Authorship pattern reveals that majority of the contributions are by more than one author
unfolding the fact that papers have been written jointly and collaborative research is

200

150
No. of Contributions

100
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50
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0
34 35 36 37 38
No. of Volumes

significant in mathematics. 37.5% contributions are by single authors and 40.75%

contributions are by two authors showing clearly the trend of collaborative research.
 An earlier study by Narang, A. revealed that national and international contributions in
the journal are fifty-fifty, but the present study reveals that now it is 65.25% international
and 34.75% national [6]. The journal is heading towards being a true international
journal.
 University teachers, both at national and international level are the main contributors to
this journal, thus corroborating the fact that universities are the centers of research and
study.
 All the contributions are with citations and the journal articles are the most cited
documents i.e. 77.47%. This is due to the fact that the new research findings are reported
in journals and the researchers interpret and extend the previous research results.
7 REFERENCES
1. Ramakrishna (J); Ramesh Babu. Literature on hepatitis (1984-2003): A bibliometric analysis. Annals
of Library and Information Studies. Vol. 54(4); 2007; p195-200.
2. Dalai (B K); Ramesh (D B). Publication pattern in scientific and industrial research in India: a
biblimetric study. Annals of Library Science and Documentation. Vol. 42(1); 1995; p35-38.
3. Pritchard (A). Statistical bibliography or bibliometrics? Journal of Documentation. Vol. 25(4); 1969;
p348-349.
4. Egghe (L). Methodological aspects of bibliometrics. Library Science. Vol. 25; 1988; p179-191.
5. Dutta (Bidyarthi); Sen (B K). Indian journal of pure and applied mathematics: an analysis of citation
pattern. IASLIC Bulletin. Vol. 46(4); 2001; p221-226.

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 A Bibliometric Study of Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics

6. Narang (Asha). Indian journal of pure and applied mathematics: A bibliometric study. Annals of
Library and Information Studies. Vol. 51(1); 2004; p28-38.
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Vol. 47, No.1, February 2010 39