ResearchGate and Google Scholar: how much do they differ in publications,citations and different metrics and why?

ResearchGate has emerged as a popular professional network for scientists and researchers in a very short span. Similar to Google Scholar, the ResearchGate indexing uses an automatic crawling algorithm that extracts bibliographic data, citations, and other information about scholarly articles from various sources. However, it has been observed that the two platforms often show different publication and citation data for the same institutions, journals, and authors. While several previous studies analysed different aspects of ResearchGate and Google Scholar, the quantum of differences in publications, citations, and metrics between the two and the probable reasons for the same are not explored much. This article, therefore, attempts to bridge this research gap by analysing and measuring the differences in publications, citations, and different metrics of the two platforms for a large data set of highly cited authors. The results indicate that there are significantly high differences in publications and citations for the same authors captured by the two platforms, with Google Scholar having higher counts for a vast majority of the cases. The different metrics computed by the two platforms also differ in their values, showing different degrees of correlation. The coverage policy, indexing errors, author attribution mechanism, and strategy to deal with predatory publishing are found to be the main probable reasons for the differences in the two platforms.

     

Fracture mechanics model for subthreshold indentation flaws

A fracture mechanics model for subthreshold indentation flaws is. described. The model describes the initiation and extension of a microcrack from a discrete deformation-induced shear fault (shear crack) within the contact zone. A stress-intensity factor analysis for the microcrack extension in residual-contact and applied-stress fields is used in conjunction with appropriate fracture conditions, equilibrium in Part I and non-equilibrium in Part II, to determine critical instability configurations.In Part I, the K-field relations are used in conjunction with the Griffith requirements for crack equilibrium in essentially inert environments to determine: (i) the critical indentation size (or load) for spontaneous radial crack pop-in from a critical shear fault under the action of residual stresses alone; (ii) the inert strengths of surfaces with subthreshold or postthreshold flaws. The theory is fitted to literature data for silicate glasses. These fits are used to calibrate dimensionless parameters in the fracture mechanics expressions, for later use in Part II. The universality of the analysis in its facility to predict the main features of crack initiation and propagation in residual and applied fields will be demonstrated. Special emphasis is placed on the capacity to account for the significant increase in strength (and associated scatter) observed on passing from the postthreshold to the subthreshold domain.     

Acoustical studies on polyvinylchloride in dimethylformamide

Ultrasonic velocity studies were undertaken on solutions of polyvinylchloride (PVC) in dimethylformamide (DMF) in the concentration range 0–3% by weight, at an RF frequency of 2 MHz at three different temperatures, 303 K, 313 K and 323 K. The observed non-linear increase in ultrasonic velocity with increase of PVC concentration is attributed to the segment–segment interaction which causes molecular association between PVC and DMF.     

x-index: Identifying core competency and thematic research strengths of institutions using an NLP and network based ranking framework

Scientometrics - The currently prevailing international ranking systems for institutions are limited in their assessment as they only provide assessments either at an overall level or at very broad...     

DOD and DOA estimation using the spatial smoothing in MIMO radar with the EmV sensors

This paper deals with the directions of departure (DOD) and directions of arrival (DOA) estimation of coherent and noncoherent targets in bistatic MIMO radar with the electromagnetic vector (EmV) sensors. The high-resolution eigenspace-based methods such as, estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance technique (ESPRIT), multiple signal classification, etc., fails to estimate DOD and DOA of fully or partially correlated targets. In order to employ these methods, a new pre-processing method is developed based on the spatial smoothing in MIMO radar with the EmV sensors. Then, the directions are estimated using the ESPRIT algorithm. Monte-Carlo simulations are performed to investigate the estimation-accuracy and resolution-capability of the proposed approach, and to compare with no pre-processing and the existing method. The simulation result shows that, the proposed methodology improves the performance significantly.     

Fibers from polypropylene/nano carbon fiber composites

Fibers from polypropylene and polypropylene/vapor grown nano carbon fiber composite have been spun using conventional melt spinning equipment. At 5 wt% nano carbon fiber loading, modulus and compressive strength of polypropylene increased by 50 and 100%, respectively, and the nano carbon fibers exhibited good dispersion in the polypropylene matrix as observed by scanning electron microscopy.     

Cyclic Fatigue Behavior of an Alumina Ceramic with Crack-Resistance Characteristics

The behavior under cyclic tension—tension loading of an alumina ceramic with pronounced crack-bridging (R-curve) characteristics is studied. Tests on disk specimens with indentation cracks reveal no failures below the static fatigue limit. Theoretical predictions of the stress-lifetime response, based on the premise that environmentally assisted slow crack growth is the sole factor determining lifetime, are consistent (within experimental scatter) with the data. The results indicate that there is no significant cyclic degradation from potential damage to the bridges, at least in the short-crack region pertinent to strength properties.     

Effect of high pressure torsion on the microstructure evolution of a gamma Ti–45Al–2Nb–2Mn–0.8 vol% TiB2 alloy

The technique of high pressure torsion (HPT) has been widely used to refine the microstructure of many metallic materials, especially pure metals and disordered alloys. Comparatively fewer studies have, however, been carried out in intermetallics. γ-TiAl alloys are envisioned as high potential materials to replace Ni superalloys in some turbine components due to their good performance at high temperatures and light weight. Exploring the potential beneficial effects of severe plastic deformation techniques in these materials is now timely. In this work, a γ-TiAl alloy with a lamellar microstructure has been processed by HPT using pressures ranging from 1 to 6 GPa and 0 to 5 anvil turns at room temperature. Significant refinement of the microstructure via twin formation, bending of the lamella and the accumulation of a high dislocation density upon the application of shear give rise to a drastic hardness increase.     

A framework towards bias-free contextual productivity assessment

Scientometrics - Productivity assessment of various actors is one of the major concerns of Scientometrics and is vital for many applications that include policymaking. Popular productivity indices...