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On measuring scholarly influence by citations

Author

Listed:
  • Martin Ravallion

    (World Bank)

  • Adam Wagstaff

    (World Bank)

Abstract

Bibliometric measures based on citations are widely used in assessing the scientific publication records of authors, institutions and journals. Yet currently favored measures lack a clear theoretical foundation and are known to have counter-intuitive properties. The paper proposes a new approach that is grounded on a theoretical “influence function,” representing explicit prior beliefs about how citations reflect influence. Conditions are derived for robust qualitative comparisons of influence—conditions that can be implemented using readily-available data. Two examples are provided, one using the world’s top-10 economics department, the other using the top-10 economics journals.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Ravallion & Adam Wagstaff, 2011. "On measuring scholarly influence by citations," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 88(1), pages 321-337, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:88:y:2011:i:1:d:10.1007_s11192-011-0375-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-011-0375-0
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    Cited by:

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    2. David Anderson & John Tressler, 2018. "The Impact of Citation Timing: A Framework and Examples," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 9(2).
    3. 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.
    4. Mehdi Rhaiem, 2017. "Measurement and determinants of academic research efficiency: a systematic review of the evidence," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(2), pages 581-615, February.
    5. David L. Anderson & John Tressler, 2013. "The Relevance of the “h-” and “g-” Index to Economics in the Context of A Nation-Wide Research Evaluation Scheme: The New Zealand Case," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 32(1), pages 81-94, March.
    6. Neus Herranz & Javier Ruiz-Castillo, 2013. "The end of the “European Paradox”," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 95(1), pages 453-464, April.
    7. Giovanni Abramo & Ciriaco Andrea D’Angelo & Fulvio Viel, 2013. "The suitability of h and g indexes for measuring the research performance of institutions," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 97(3), pages 555-570, December.
    8. Wagstaff, Adam & Culyer, Anthony J., 2012. "Four decades of health economics through a bibliometric lens," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 406-439.
    9. L'aszl'o Csat'o & D'ora Gr'eta Petr'oczy, 2020. "Bibliometric indices as a measure of performance and competitive balance in the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League," Papers 2005.13416, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2023.
    10. Kuan, Chung-Huei & Huang, Mu-Hsuan & Chen, Dar-Zen, 2013. "Cross-field evaluation of publications of research institutes using their contributions to the fields’ MVPs determined by h-index," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 455-468.
    11. Antonio Abatemarco & Roberto Dell’Anno, 2013. "Certainty equivalent citation: generalized classes of citation indexes," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 94(1), pages 263-271, January.
    12. Christopher Carroll, 2016. "Measuring academic research impact: creating a citation profile using the conceptual framework for implementation fidelity as a case study," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(2), pages 1329-1340, November.
    13. Schreiber, Michael, 2013. "How to derive an advantage from the arbitrariness of the g-index," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 555-561.
    14. Schreiber, Michael, 2013. "A case study of the arbitrariness of the h-index and the highly-cited-publications indicator," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 379-387.
    15. Martin Ravallion & Adam Wagstaff, 2012. "The World Bank’s publication record," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 343-368, December.
    16. Bouyssou, Denis & Marchant, Thierry, 2014. "An axiomatic approach to bibliometric rankings and indices," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 449-477.
    17. Shengbo Liu & Xiaoting Luo & Miaomiao Liu, 2023. "Was Chinese “Double-First Class” Construction Policy Influential? Analysis Using Propensity Score Matching," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-13, April.

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