HAS PRICE DREAM COME TRUE - IS SCIENTOMETRICS A HARD SCIENCE

At the occasion of the completion of the 25th volume of Scientometrice s, we present a combined bibliometric and social network analysis of t his journal. In more than one respect, Scientometrics displays the cha racteristics of a social science journal. Its Price Index amounts to 4 3.0 percent, and is remarkably stable over time. The majority of the p ublished items in Scientometrics has been written by a single author. Moreover, the network of co-authorships is highly fragmented: most aut hors cooperate with no more than one or two colleagues. Both the citat ion networks of the authors and the network of title words indicate th at the field is nonetheless highly cohesive. In this sense, a specific identity seems to have developed, indeed. Some indications concerning the character of this identity are discussed.