Citations, Citation Indicators, and Research Quality: An Overview of Basic Concepts and Theories
TLDR
Citations are increasingly used as performance indicators in research policy and within the research system as mentioned in this paper, and it is argued that citations reflect aspects related to scientific impact and relevance, although with important limitations.Abstract:
Citations are increasingly used as performance indicators in research policy and within the research system. Usually, citations are assumed to reflect the impact of the research or its quality. What is the justification for these assumptions and how do citations relate to research quality? These and similar issues have been addressed through several decades of scientometric research. This article provides an overview of some of the main issues at stake, including theories of citation and the interpretation and validity of citations as performance measures. Research quality is a multidimensional concept, where plausibility/soundness, originality, scientific value, and societal value commonly are perceived as key characteristics. The article investigates how citations may relate to these various research quality dimensions. It is argued that citations reflect aspects related to scientific impact and relevance, although with important limitations. On the contrary, there is no evidence that citations reflect other key dimensions of research quality. Hence, an increased use of citation indicators in research evaluation and funding may imply less attention to these other research quality dimensions, such as solidity/plausibility, originality, and societal value.read more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Social Stratification in Science
Citation Indexing Its Theory And Application In Science Technology And Humanities
TL;DR: Citation indexing its theory and application in science technology and humanities and instead of enjoying a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they juggled with some infectious virus inside their computer.
Journal ArticleDOI
The extent and drivers of gender imbalance in neuroscience reference lists.
Jordan D. Dworkin,Kristin A. Linn,Erin G. Teich,Perry Zurn,Russell T. Shinohara,Danielle S. Bassett +5 more
TL;DR: It is found that women-led work tends to be undercited relative to expectations and this imbalance is driven largely by the citation practices of men and is increasing over time as the field diversifies.
Journal ArticleDOI
Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus: The Titans of Bibliographic Information in Today’s Academic World
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an all-inclusive description of the two main bibliographic DBs by gathering the findings that are presented in the most recent literature and information provided by the owners of the DBs at one place.
Posted ContentDOI
The extent and drivers of gender imbalance in neuroscience reference lists
Jordan D. Dworkin,Kristin A. Linn,Erin G. Teich,Perry Zurn,Russell T. Shinohara,Danielle S. Bassett +5 more
TL;DR: It is found that reference lists tend to include more papers with men as first and last author than would be expected if gender were not a factor in referencing, and this overcitation of men and undercitation of women is driven largely by the citation practices of men, and is increasing over time as the field becomes more diverse.
References
More filters
Journal Article
Protein Measurement with the Folin Phenol Reagent
TL;DR: Procedures are described for measuring protein in solution or after precipitation with acids or other agents, and for the determination of as little as 0.2 gamma of protein.
Journal ArticleDOI
An index to quantify an individual's scientific research output
TL;DR: The index h, defined as the number of papers with citation number ≥h, is proposed as a useful index to characterize the scientific output of a researcher.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Matthew effect in science. The reward and communication systems of science are considered.
TL;DR: The psychosocial conditions and mechanisms underlying the Matthew effect are examined and a correlation between the redundancy function of multiple discoveries and the focalizing function of eminent men of science is found—a function which is reinforced by the great value these men place upon finding basic problems and by their self-assurance.
Why Most Published Research Findings Are False
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the implications of these problems for the conduct and interpretation of research and suggest that claimed research findings may often be simply accurate measures of the prevailing bias.
Related Papers (5)
Bibliometrics: The Leiden Manifesto for research metrics
Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error
Claes Fornell,David F. Larcker +1 more