The number of authors per article in library and information science can often be described by a simple probability distribution

Abstract

Ajiferuke showed that observed author distributions can best be described by a shifted inverse Gaussian-Poisson distribution. Yet, in the framework of a model to explain observed fractional distributions of authors it is important to know whether a simple one-parameter distribution such as a geometric or a truncated Poisson can adequately describe observed author distributions, at least in those fields where the single author is still dominant. In this article it is shown that for the field of information science this is indeed the case.