Chandra Publication Statistics

TL;DR

This paper introduces new publication metrics based on Chandra data that better reflect observatory productivity and usage, accounting for publication delays and archival research, providing a more meaningful assessment than traditional metrics.

Contribution

It develops and proposes novel publication metrics that are less sensitive to observatory-specific factors, improving the evaluation of scientific output from the Chandra observatory.

Findings

Median time from observation to publication is 2.36 years.

90% of observing time is published within 7 years.

Annual publication output is 60-70% of available observing time.

Abstract

In this study we develop and propose publication metrics, based on an analysis of data from the Chandra bibliographic database, that are more meaningful and less sensitive to observatory-specific characteristics than the traditional metrics. They fall in three main categories: speed of publication; fraction of observing time published; and archival usage. Citation of results is a fourth category, but lends itself less well to definite statements. For Chandra, the median time from observation to publication is 2.36 years; after about 7 years 90% of the observing time is published; after 10 years 70% of the observing time is published more than twice; and the total annual publication output of the mission is 60-70% of the cumulative observing time available, assuming a two year lag between data retrieval and publication.