Abstract
The “Biglan model,” a classification system arraying academic fields and disciplines into eight cells, is frequently cited and has become a generally accepted new eponym in the field of higher education. Bibliographic indicators and co-citation patterns document that John Smart (and associates) introduced the eponym to the field, but he is never expressly acknowledged for the contribution. Over time, the eponym may be taking on new, more theoretical, meaning. As this eponym becomes further diffused throughout the literature, there are signs that citations to the Smart messenger may diminish, along with obliteration of the formal citation of Biglan. The disappearance of citations is not atypical, nor is it a violation of normal scholarly practices but, in fact, it undermines the veracity of typical bibliometric studies of intellectual influence structures.
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Bayer, A.E. The “Biglan model” and the smart messenger: A case study of eponym diffusion. Res High Educ 26, 212–223 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00992030
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00992030