IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/scient/v127y2022i12d10.1007_s11192-022-04388-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Preprint citation practice in PLOS

Author

Listed:
  • Marc Bertin

    (Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1)

  • Iana Atanassova

    (Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté
    Institut Universitaire de France (IUF))

Abstract

The role of preprints in the scientific production and their part in citations have been growing over the past 10 years. In this paper we study preprint citations in several different aspects: the progression of preprint citations over time, their relative frequencies in relation to the IMRaD structure of articles, their distributions over time, per preprint database and per PLOS journal. We have processed the PLOS corpus that covers 7 journals and a total of about 240,000 articles up to January 2021, and produced a dataset of 8460 preprint citation contexts that cite 12 different preprint databases. Our results show that preprint citations are found with the highest frequency in the Method section of articles, though small variations exist with respect to journals. The PLOS Computational Biology journal stands out as it contains more than three times more preprint citations than any other PLOS journal. The relative parts of the different preprint databases are also examined. While ArXiv and bioRxiv are the most frequent citation sources, bioRxiv’s disciplinary nature can be observed as it is the source of more than 70% of preprint citations in PLOS Biology, PLOS Genetics and PLOS Pathogens. We have also compared the lexical content of preprint citation contexts to the citation content to peer-reviewed publications. Finally, by performing a lexicometric analysis, we have shown that preprint citation contexts differ significantly from citation contexts of peer-reviewed publications. This confirms that authors make use of different lexical content when citing preprints compared to the rest of citations.

Suggested Citation

  • Marc Bertin & Iana Atanassova, 2022. "Preprint citation practice in PLOS," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(12), pages 6895-6912, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:127:y:2022:i:12:d:10.1007_s11192-022-04388-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-022-04388-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11192-022-04388-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11192-022-04388-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Philippe Desjardins-Proulx & Ethan P White & Joel J Adamson & Karthik Ram & Timothée Poisot & Dominique Gravel, 2013. "The Case for Open Preprints in Biology," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(5), pages 1-5, May.
    2. Marc Bertin & Iana Atanassova & Yves Gingras & Vincent Larivière, 2016. "The invariant distribution of references in scientific articles," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 67(1), pages 164-177, January.
    3. Vincent Larivière & Cassidy R. Sugimoto & Benoit Macaluso & Staša Milojević & Blaise Cronin & Mike Thelwall, 2014. "arXiv E-prints and the journal of record: An analysis of roles and relationships," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 65(6), pages 1157-1169, June.
    4. Lê, Sébastien & Josse, Julie & Husson, François, 2008. "FactoMineR: An R Package for Multivariate Analysis," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 25(i01).
    5. Jim Giles, 2003. "Preprint server seeks way to halt plagiarists," Nature, Nature, vol. 426(6962), pages 7-7, November.
    6. Small, Henry, 2018. "Characterizing highly cited method and non-method papers using citation contexts: The role of uncertainty," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 461-480.
    7. Guillaume Cabanac & Theodora Oikonomidi & Isabelle Boutron, 2021. "Day-to-day discovery of preprint–publication links," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(6), pages 5285-5304, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sarvenaz Sarabipour & Humberto J Debat & Edward Emmott & Steven J Burgess & Benjamin Schwessinger & Zach Hensel, 2019. "On the value of preprints: An early career researcher perspective," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(2), pages 1-12, February.
    2. Wang, Shiyun & Mao, Jin & Lu, Kun & Cao, Yujie & Li, Gang, 2021. "Understanding interdisciplinary knowledge integration through citance analysis: A case study on eHealth," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4).
    3. Sehrish Iqbal & Saeed-Ul Hassan & Naif Radi Aljohani & Salem Alelyani & Raheel Nawaz & Lutz Bornmann, 2021. "A decade of in-text citation analysis based on natural language processing and machine learning techniques: an overview of empirical studies," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(8), pages 6551-6599, August.
    4. Iman Tahamtan & Lutz Bornmann, 2019. "What do citation counts measure? An updated review of studies on citations in scientific documents published between 2006 and 2018," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 121(3), pages 1635-1684, December.
    5. Surun, Clément & Drechsler, Martin, 2018. "Effectiveness of Tradable Permits for the Conservation of Metacommunities With Two Competing Species," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 189-196.
    6. Alexander Platzer & Thomas Nussbaumer & Thomas Karonitsch & Josef S Smolen & Daniel Aletaha, 2019. "Analysis of gene expression in rheumatoid arthritis and related conditions offers insights into sex-bias, gene biotypes and co-expression patterns," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(7), pages 1-23, July.
    7. Baccar, Mariem & Raynal, Hélène & Sekhar, Muddu & Bergez, Jacques-Eric & Willaume, Magali & Casel, Pierre & Giriraj, P. & Murthy, Sanjeeva & Ruiz, Laurent, 2023. "Dynamics of crop category choices reveal strategies and tactics used by smallholder farmers in India to cope with unreliable water availability," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    8. Citron, Daniel T. & Way, Samuel F., 2018. "Network assembly of scientific communities of varying size and specificity," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 181-190.
    9. Aditi Sahu & Kivanc Kose & Lukas Kraehenbuehl & Candice Byers & Aliya Holland & Teguru Tembo & Anthony Santella & Anabel Alfonso & Madison Li & Miguel Cordova & Melissa Gill & Christi Fox & Salvador G, 2022. "In vivo tumor immune microenvironment phenotypes correlate with inflammation and vasculature to predict immunotherapy response," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-19, December.
    10. Roopam Shukla & Ankit Agarwal & Kamna Sachdeva & Juergen Kurths & P. K. Joshi, 2019. "Climate change perception: an analysis of climate change and risk perceptions among farmer types of Indian Western Himalayas," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 103-119, January.
    11. Cholez, Celia & Pauly, Olivier & Mahdad, Maral & Mehrabi, Sepide & Giagnocavo, Cynthia & Bijman, Jos, 2023. "Heterogeneity of inter-organizational collaborations in agrifood chain sustainability-oriented innovations," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    12. Florence Jacquet & A Aboul-Naga & Bernard Hubert, 2020. "The contribution of ARIMNet to address livestock systems resilience in the Mediterranean region," Post-Print hal-03625860, HAL.
    13. Marika Vitali & Paolo Bosi & Elena Santacroce & Paolo Trevisi, 2021. "The multivariate approach identifies relationships between pre-slaughter factors, body lesions, ham defects and carcass traits in pigs," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(5), pages 1-14, May.
    14. Silvana Nisgoski & Joielan Xipaia dos Santos & Helena Cristina Vieira & Tawani Lorena Naide & Rafaela Stange & Washington Duarte Silva da Silva & Deivison Venicio Souza & Natally Celestino Gama & Márc, 2023. "Provenance Identification of Leaves and Nuts of Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Color Parameters for Sustainable Extraction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-15, November.
    15. Alessandro Bonadonna & Stefano Duglio & Luigi Bollani & Giovanni Peira, 2022. "Mountain Food Products: A Cluster Analysis Based on Young Consumers’ Perceptions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-14, September.
    16. Cyrille Bassolo Baki & Joost Wellens & Farid Traoré & Sié Palé & Bakary Djaby & Apolline Bambara & Nguyen T. T. Thao & Missa Hié & Bernard Tychon, 2022. "Assessment of Hydro-Agricultural Infrastructures in Burkina Faso by Using Multiple Correspondence Analysis Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-20, October.
    17. Gennifer Meldrum & Dunja Mijatović & Wilfredo Rojas & Juana Flores & Milton Pinto & Grover Mamani & Eleuterio Condori & David Hilaquita & Helga Gruberg & Stefano Padulosi, 2018. "Climate change and crop diversity: farmers’ perceptions and adaptation on the Bolivian Altiplano," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 703-730, April.
    18. Claire H Luby & Julie C Dawson & Irwin L Goldman, 2016. "Assessment and Accessibility of Phenotypic and Genotypic Diversity of Carrot (Daucus carota L. var. sativus) Cultivars Commercially Available in the United States," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(12), pages 1-19, December.
    19. Guillaume Cabanac & Theodora Oikonomidi & Isabelle Boutron, 2021. "Day-to-day discovery of preprint–publication links," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(6), pages 5285-5304, June.
    20. Hugo R Oliveira & Diana Tomás & Manuela Silva & Susana Lopes & Wanda Viegas & Maria Manuela Veloso, 2016. "Genetic Diversity and Population Structure in Vicia faba L. Landraces and Wild Related Species Assessed by Nuclear SSRs," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(5), pages 1-18, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:127:y:2022:i:12:d:10.1007_s11192-022-04388-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.