摘要

the current paper is a brief approximation to bibliometrics as approach for the identification of paradigms in knowledge domains. it is analyzed the use of bibliometrics for the study of cognoscitive and social structure of science, as well as its intellectual history during the last 45 years. the article deals with perspectives based on citation analysis, and particularly processes of co-citation clustering, for the identification of research fronts and emergent paradigms. it is recognized two antagonic visions related to the use of citation analysis as technique for research evaluation: the constructivist critic and the normative theory. it is assumed the normative theory to identify the potential utility of bibliometrics as approach, tool or method for the analysis of a knowledge domain. it is enunciated the importance of its integration to historical and epistemological approaches for the identification of paradigmatic transformations in the scientific activity.

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