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Counting publications and citations: Is more always better?

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  • Waltman, Ludo
  • van Eck, Nees Jan
  • Wouters, Paul

Abstract

Is more always better? We address this question in the context of bibliometric indices that aim to assess the scientific impact of individual researchers by counting their number of highly cited publications. We propose a simple model in which the number of citations of a publication depends not only on the scientific impact of the publication but also on other ‘random’ factors. Our model indicates that more need not always be better. It turns out that the most influential researchers may have a systematically lower performance, in terms of highly cited publications, than some of their less influential colleagues. The model also suggests an improved way of counting highly cited publications.

Suggested Citation

  • Waltman, Ludo & van Eck, Nees Jan & Wouters, Paul, 2013. "Counting publications and citations: Is more always better?," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 635-641.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:infome:v:7:y:2013:i:3:p:635-641
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joi.2013.04.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Loet Leydesdorff & Lutz Bornmann & Rüdiger Mutz & Tobias Opthof, 2011. "Turning the tables on citation analysis one more time: Principles for comparing sets of documents," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 62(7), pages 1370-1381, July.
    2. M. V. Simkin & V. P. Roychowdhury, 2005. "Stochastic modeling of citation slips," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 62(3), pages 367-384, March.
    3. Martin, Ben R. & Irvine, John, 1993. "Assessing basic research : Some partial indicators of scientific progress in radio astronomy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 106-106, April.
    4. Ludo Waltman & Nees Jan van Eck, 2012. "The inconsistency of the h-index," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(2), pages 406-415, February.
    5. Ludo Waltman & Michael Schreiber, 2013. "On the calculation of percentile-based bibliometric indicators," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 64(2), pages 372-379, February.
    6. Martin Ravallion & Adam Wagstaff, 2011. "On measuring scholarly influence by citations," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 88(1), pages 321-337, July.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Dowling, Grahame R., 2014. "Playing the citations game: From publish or perish to be cited or sidelined," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 280-287.
    3. Martin Ricker, 2017. "Letter to the Editor: About the quality and impact of scientific articles," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 111(3), pages 1851-1855, June.
    4. Zahedi, Zohreh & Haustein, Stefanie, 2018. "On the relationships between bibliographic characteristics of scientific documents and citation and Mendeley readership counts: A large-scale analysis of Web of Science publications," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 191-202.
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    8. Martin Ricker, 2015. "A numerical algorithm with preference statements to evaluate the performance of scientists," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 103(1), pages 191-212, April.
    9. Morretta, Valentina & Florio, Massimo & Landoni, Matteo, 2023. "The social value of Earth observation: A new evaluation framework for public high-tech infrastructures," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 407-419.
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    12. Dag W. Aksnes & Liv Langfeldt & Paul Wouters, 2019. "Citations, Citation Indicators, and Research Quality: An Overview of Basic Concepts and Theories," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(1), pages 21582440198, February.
    13. Rousseau, Sandra & Catalano, Giuseppe & Daraio, Cinzia, 2021. "Can we estimate a monetary value of scientific publications?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    14. Morretta, Valentina & Vurchio, Davide & Carrazza, Stefano, 2022. "The socio-economic value of scientific publications: The case of Earth Observation satellites," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
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    16. Henk F. Moed & Gali Halevi, 2015. "Multidimensional assessment of scholarly research impact," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 66(10), pages 1988-2002, October.

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