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The Limits of Citation Counts

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  • Antonin Mac'e

Abstract

I study the measurement of scientists' influence using bibliographic data. The main result is an axiomatic characterization of the family of citation-counting indices, a broad class of influence measures which includes the renowned h-index. The result highlights several limitations of these indices: they are not suitable to compare scientists across different fields, and they cannot account for indirect influence. I explore how these limitations can be overcome by using richer bibliographic information.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonin Mac'e, 2017. "The Limits of Citation Counts," Papers 1711.02695, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2023.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:1711.02695
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