Application of sociometric and event-history modelling to bibliometric data: the case of transgene plants

This paper examines the determinants of researcher contribution-spans. The contribution-span is the number of years spanning a researcher's first and last known publications in a field. It serves as a unique measure of researchers' persistence. Based on co-authorship data, several sociometric indices are created and their impact on researchers' persistence in their efforts to develop a technology is examined. Evidence is provided from 2,876 researchers active in the field of transgene plants over 11 years. The findings lend support to the proposition that an individual researcher's network position is an important determinant of persistence. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.