{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,7]],"date-time":"2025-08-07T20:54:43Z","timestamp":1754600083066,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[1984,2,1]],"date-time":"1984-02-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":444441600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[1984,2,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Haitun has recently shown that empirical distributions are of two types\u2014\u2018Gaussian\u2019 and \u2018Zipfian\u2019\u2014characterized by the presence or absence of moments. Gaussian\u2010type 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 \u2018inadmissible\u2019. A new statistical theory based on \u2018Zipfian\u2019 distributions is therefore needed for the social sciences. Laplace's notorious \u2018law of succession\u2019, which has evaded derivation by classical probability theory, is shown to be the \u2018Zipfian\u2019 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.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1108\/eb026761","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2008,1,19]],"date-time":"2008-01-19T07:45:40Z","timestamp":1200728740000},"page":"120-143","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["TOWARDS INFORMETRICS: HAITUN, LAPLACE, ZIPF, BRADFORD AND THE ALVEY PROGRAMME"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"40","author":[{"given":"B.C.","family":"BROOKES","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"key":"p_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02098003"},{"volume-title":"Houghton Mifflin","year":"1935","author":"ZIPF G. K.","key":"p_2"},{"volume-title":"Proceedings ofthe symposium on the applications ofcommunication theory","year":"1952","author":"MANDELBROT B.","key":"p_3"},{"key":"p_4","first-page":"435","volume":"44","author":"SIMON H. 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R.","key":"p_20"},{"volume-title":"the Report ofthe Alvey Committee","year":"1982","key":"p_21"}],"container-title":["Journal of Documentation"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/eb026761\/full\/xml","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/eb026761\/full\/html","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,24]],"date-time":"2025-07-24T23:11:10Z","timestamp":1753398670000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/www.emerald.com\/jd\/article\/40\/2\/120-143\/207676"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[1984,2,1]]},"references-count":20,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-print":{"date-parts":[[1984,2,1]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1108\/eb026761"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/eb026761","relation":{},"ISSN":["0022-0418"],"issn-type":[{"type":"print","value":"0022-0418"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[1984,2,1]]}}}