| Title | Measuring the influence of non-scientific features on citations |
| Abstract | Citations remain a prime, yet controversial, measure of academic performance. Ideally, how often a paper is cited should solely depend on the quality of the science reported therein. However, non-scientific factors, including structural elements (e.g., length of abstract, number of references) or attributes of authors (e.g., prestige and gender), may all influence citation outcomes. Knowing the predicted effect of these features on citations might make it possible to 'game the system' of citation counts when writing a paper. We conducted a meta-analysis to build a quantitative understanding of the effect of similar non-scientific features on the impact of scientific articles in terms of citations. We showed that article length, number of authors, author experience and their collaboration network, Impact Factors, availability as open access, online sharing, different referencing practice, and number of figures all exerted a positive influence on citations. These patterns were consistent across most disciplines. We also documented temporal trends towards a recent increase in the effect of journal Impact Factor and number of authors on citations. We suggest that our approach can be used as a benchmark to monitor the influence of these effects over time, minimising the influence of non-scientific features as a means to game the system of citation counts, and thus enhancing their usefulness as a measure of scientific quality. |
| Source | Scientometrics (Print) 127, pp. 4123–4137 |
| Keywords | Article impactBibliometricsMeta-analysisScientometrics |
| Journal | Scientometrics (Print) |
| Editor | Springer, Budapest, Ungheria |
| Year | 2022 |
| Type | Articolo in rivista |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11192-022-04421-7 |
| Authors | Mammola, Stefano; Piano, Elena; Doretto, Alberto; Caprio, Enrico; Chamberlain, Dan |
| Text | 469706 2022 10.1007/s11192 022 04421 7 Scopus 2 s2.0 85131546508 Article impact Bibliometrics Meta analysis Scientometrics Measuring the influence of non scientific features on citations Mammola, Stefano; Piano, Elena; Doretto, Alberto; Caprio, Enrico; Chamberlain, Dan Istituto di Ricerca sulle Acque, Italy; Luonnontieteellinen Keskusmuseo; Universita degli Studi di Torino; Universita degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale Amedeo Avogadro Citations remain a prime, yet controversial, measure of academic performance. Ideally, how often a paper is cited should solely depend on the quality of the science reported therein. However, non scientific factors, including structural elements e.g., length of abstract, number of references or attributes of authors e.g., prestige and gender , may all influence citation outcomes. Knowing the predicted effect of these features on citations might make it possible to game the system of citation counts when writing a paper. We conducted a meta analysis to build a quantitative understanding of the effect of similar non scientific features on the impact of scientific articles in terms of citations. We showed that article length, number of authors, author experience and their collaboration network, Impact Factors, availability as open access, online sharing, different referencing practice, and number of figures all exerted a positive influence on citations. These patterns were consistent across most disciplines. We also documented temporal trends towards a recent increase in the effect of journal Impact Factor and number of authors on citations. We suggest that our approach can be used as a benchmark to monitor the influence of these effects over time, minimising the influence of non scientific features as a means to game the system of citation counts, and thus enhancing their usefulness as a measure of scientific quality. 127 Published version http //www.scopus.com/record/display.url eid=2 s2.0 85131546508 origin=inward Published version 2022_MAMMOLA ET AL Scientometrics.pdf Articolo in rivista Springer 0138 9130 Scientometrics Print Scientometrics Print Scientometrics Print Scientometrics Print stefano.mammola MAMMOLA STEFANO |
