The Practical Significance of Bradford’s Informetric Model to Predict the Scattering of Articles and Optimize Journal Selection

Articles scattered in the VINITI abstract database dated 2020–2022 are studied using the example of three thematic fragments: chemistry and chemical technologies, mechanical engineering, and metallurgy and welding. The mathematical formulas of Bradford and Vickery were used to calculate the number of journals in the third scattering zone. It is argued that the Bradford–Vickery law of publication scattering allows us to predict the minimum number of journals that cover more than 90% of articles quantity on a certain topic. The optimization of journal selection is reduced to the solution of the well-known knapsack problem. It is proposed to rank journals by thematic relevance. Unlike the Bradford model, intended to select the most productive journals, the proposed model is designed to select the most relevant journals.