Abstract
The citations to a citation classic dealing with the classification of citations according to their contexts were analyzed using the method of that citation classic. It was found that (a) the ratio of conceptual to operational citations is very much larger than in the cases studied before in the natural sciences; (b) the ratio of evolutionary to juxtapositional citations is much smaller than in the cases studied before in the natural sciences. The results are interpreted in terms of the following conclusions: (1) the technique of the original paper has been little used directly; (2) the specific results of the original applications of the original paper have been used to some extent as evidence; and (3) the conceptual idea of the original paper has been used in general to stimulate further, refined, and alternate investigations in scientometrics.
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