Dietrich, JP Disentangling visibility and self-promotion bias in the arXiv : astro-ph positional citation effect PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC, 120 (869): 801-804 JUL 2008

[Eugene Garfield]

E-mail Address: jdietric at eso.org 

Author(s): Dietrich, JP (Dietrich, J. P.) 

Title: Disentangling visibility and self-promotion bias in the arXiv : 
astro-ph positional citation effect 

Source: PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC, 120 
(869): 801-804 JUL 2008 

Language: English 

Document Type: Article 

Abstract: We established in an earlier study that articles listed at or 
near the top of the daily arXiv:astro-ph mailings receive on average 
significantly more citations than articles further down the list. In our 
earlier work we were not able to decide whether this positional citation 
effect was due to author self-promotion of intrinsically more citable 
papers or whether papers are cited more often simply because they are at 
the top of the astro-ph listing. Using new data we can now disentangle 
both effects. Based on their submission times we separate articles into a 
selfpromoted sample and a sample of articles that achieved a high rank on 
astro-ph by chance and compare their citation distributions with those of 
articles in lower astro-ph positions. We find that the positional citation 
effect is a superposition of self-promotion and visibility bias. 

Addresses: ESO, D-85748 Garching B Munchen, Germany 

Reprint Address: Dietrich, JP, ESO, Karl Schwarzschild Str 2, D-85748 
Garching B Munchen, Germany. 

E-mail Address: jdietric at eso.org 

Cited Reference Count: 5 

Times Cited: 0 

Publisher: UNIV CHICAGO PRESS 

Publisher Address: 1427 E 60TH ST, CHICAGO, IL 60637-2954 USA 

ISSN: 0004-6280 

29-char Source Abbrev.: PUBL ASTRON SOC PAC 

ISO Source Abbrev.: Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac. 

Source Item Page Count: 4 

Subject Category: Astronomy & Astrophysics 

ISI Document Delivery No.: 324MJ 

DIETRICH JP
The importance of being first: Position dependent citation rates on 
arXiv : astro-ph 
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HABING H
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How popular is your paper? An empirical study of the citation distribution 
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