TOWARDS INFORMETRICS: HAITUN, LAPLACE, ZIPF, BRADFORD AND THE ALVEY PROGRAMME

Abstract

Haitun has recently shown that empirical distributions are of two types—‘Gaussian’ and ‘Zipfian’—characterized by the presence or absence of moments. Gaussian‐type distributions arise only in physical contexts: Zipfian only in social contexts. As the whole of modern statistical theory is based on Gaussian distributions, Haitun thus shows that its application to social statistics, including cognitive statistics, is ‘inadmissible’. A new statistical theory based on ‘Zipfian’ distributions is therefore needed for the social sciences. Laplace's notorious ‘law of succession’, which has evaded derivation by classical probability theory, is shown to be the ‘Zipfian’ frequency analogue of the Bradford law. It is argued that these two laws together provide the most convenient analytical instruments for the exploration of social science data. Some implications of these findings for the quantitative analysis of information systems are briefly discussed.

Citation

BROOKES, B.C. (1984), "TOWARDS INFORMETRICS: HAITUN, LAPLACE, ZIPF, BRADFORD AND THE ALVEY PROGRAMME", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 40 No. 2, pp. 120-143. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026761