I have no connection with the ChemWeb preprint server, but I continue to
watch its evolution with some interest. One interesting (to me) feature
is that it attempts to provide some simple statistical indicators for each
article, such as: (see http://preprint.chemweb.com/):
number of views
number of responses
rank (ranked by self-selected visitors to the preprint, on a 1-5 scale)
It remains to be seen, at some time in the future, which of these
indicators (if any, or perhaps combinations of them) might best predict
the subsequent impact of these preprints (or of published papers based on
them, as assessed, for example, by citation data).
Via the Browse button, one can also access data about the numbers of
preprints that have been posted to date (last updated April 12, 2001):
Classification.Total%
Analytical Chemistry20..10
Biochemistry11...5
Chemical Engineering16...8
Environmental Chemistry.10...5
Inorganic Chemistry.23..11
Macromolecular Chemistry.6...3
Medicinal/Pharmaceutical Chemistry...6...3
Miscellaneous9...4
Organic Chemistry...22..11
Physical Chemistry..83..40
Total..206.100
It may be noteworthy that the largest number of preprints has been in the
subfield of physical chemistry. Might this be another example (along with
the arXiv server) of physics-oriented scientists choosing to be early
adopters of preprint servers? Or, is physical chemistry simply a very
large subfield, in comparison with other kinds of chemistry? (I'm not a
chemist, so the answer isn't obvious to me!).
Jim Till
University of Toronto
