Scientometrics has become a popular discipline, both as a field of study and a set of methods. Scientometric studies are carried out at varying levels from micro to macro. Institutions of higher learning and governments adopt scientometric measures to inform their decisions and to develop policies pertaining to ranking, standing, funding, impact, visibility and future plans. Institutions, countries and scholars can be evaluated using reliable scientometric indicators which are meaningful instruments in the study of disciplines. Scientometrics serves the purpose of determining the future of academic disciplines as well. However, it has not been applied to the study of the social sciences, including sociology, as much as it has been used in science disciplines. In this essay the need for scientometric studies in the study of sociology is put forward. Reviewing some prominent studies, the essay shows applicable models for scientometric studies for the study of sociology. As the use of scientometrics has not been effectively applied to qualitative studies, the essay presents the potential of scientometric data for qualitative studies of sociology.

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社会学研究的科学计量学

科学计量学已经成为一门流行的学科，既是一个研究领域，也是一套方法。科学计量学研究是在从微观到宏观的不同层次上进行的。高等教育机构和政府采用科学计量方法来为他们的决策提供信息，并制定有关排名、地位、资金、影响、知名度和未来计划的政策。可以使用可靠的科学计量指标对机构、国家和学者进行评估，这些指标是学科研究中的有意义的工具。科学计量学也用于确定学科的未来。然而，它并没有像在科学学科中那样被应用于社会科学的研究，包括社会学。本文提出了在社会学研究中进行科学计量研究的必要性。本文回顾了一些著名的研究，展示了科学计量研究在社会学研究中的适用模型。由于科学计量学的使用尚未有效地应用于定性研究，本文展示了科学计量学数据在社会学定性研究中的潜力。