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On the causes of subject-specific citation rates in Web of Science

Author

Listed:
  • Werner Marx

    (Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research)

  • Lutz Bornmann

    (Administrative Headquarters of the Max Planck Society)

Abstract

It is well known in bibliometrics that the average number of citations per paper differs greatly between the various disciplines. The differing citation culture (in particular the different average number of references per paper and thereby the different probability of being cited) is widely seen as the cause of this variation. Based on all Web of Science (WoS) records published in 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010 we demonstrate that almost all disciplines show similar numbers of references in the appendices of their papers. Our results suggest that the average citation rate is far more influenced by the extent to which the papers (cited as references) are included in WoS as linked database records. For example, the comparatively low citation rates in the humanities are not at all the result of a lower average number of references per paper but are caused by the low fraction of linked references which refer to papers published in the core journals covered by WoS.

Suggested Citation

  • Werner Marx & Lutz Bornmann, 2015. "On the causes of subject-specific citation rates in Web of Science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 102(2), pages 1823-1827, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:102:y:2015:i:2:d:10.1007_s11192-014-1499-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-014-1499-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Benjamin M. Althouse & Jevin D. West & Carl T. Bergstrom & Theodore Bergstrom, 2009. "Differences in impact factor across fields and over time," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(1), pages 27-34, January.
    2. Christoph Neuhaus & Werner Marx & Hans‐Dieter Daniel, 2009. "The publication and citation impact profiles of Angewandte Chemie and the Journal of the American Chemical Society based on the sections of Chemical Abstracts: A case study on the limitations of the J," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(1), pages 176-183, January.
    3. Chong Ju Choi & Carla C. J. M. Millar & Caroline Y. L. Wong, 2005. "Knowledge and Measurement," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Knowledge Entanglements, chapter 0, pages 77-96, Palgrave Macmillan.
    4. Althouse, Benjamin M. & West, Jevin D. & Bergstrom, Ted C & Bergstrom, Carl T., 2008. "Differences in Impact Factor Across Fields and Over Time," University of California at Santa Barbara, Economics Working Paper Series qt76h442pg, Department of Economics, UC Santa Barbara.
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