Aksnes D."Citation rates and perceptions of scientific contribution " JASIST 57 (2): 169-185 JAN 15 2006

[Eugene Garfield]

Dag W. Aksnes : E-mail Addresses: Dag.W.Aksnes at nifustep.no

Title: Citation rates and perceptions of scientific contribution

Author(s): Aksnes DW

Source: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY 57 (2): 169-185 JAN 15 2006

Document Type: Article    Language: English
Cited References: 47      Times Cited: 0

Abstract:
In this study scientists were asked about their own publication history and
their citation counts. The study shows that the citation counts of the
publications correspond reasonably well with the authors' own assessments
of scientific contribution. Generally, citations proved to have the highest
accuracy in identifying either major or minor contributions. Nevertheless,
according to these judgments, citations are not a reliable indicator of
scientific contribution at the level of the individual article. In the
construction of relative citation indicators, the average citation rate of
the subfield appears to be slightly more appropriate as a reference
standard than the journal citation rate. The study confirms that review
articles are cited more frequently than other publication types. Compared
to the significance authors attach to these articles they appear to be
considerably "overcited." However, there were only marginal differences in
the citation rates between empirical, methods, and theoretical
contributions.

Addresses: Aksnes DW (reprint author), Norwegian Inst Studies Res & Higher
Educ, NIFU, STEP, Wergelandsv 7, Oslo, N-0167 Norway
Norwegian Inst Studies Res & Higher Educ, NIFU, STEP, Oslo, N-0167 Norway

E-mail Addresses: Dag.W.Aksnes at nifustep.no

Publisher: JOHN WILEY & SONS INC, 111 RIVER ST, HOBOKEN, NJ 07030 USA
Subject Category: COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS; INFORMATION
SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE
IDS Number: 000VM

ISSN: 1532-2882

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