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Is the relationship between numbers of references and paper lengths the same for all sciences?

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  • Helmut A. Abt
  • Eugene Garfield

Abstract

In each of 41 research journals in the physical, life, and social sciences there is a linear relationship between the average number of references and the normalized paper lengths. For most of the journals in a given field, the relationship is the same within statistical errors. For papers of average lengths in different sciences the average number of references is the same within ±17%. Because papers of average lengths in various sciences have the same number of references, we conclude that the citation counts to them can be inter‐compared within that accuracy. However, review journals are different: after scanning 18 review journals we found that those papers average twice the number of references as research papers of the same lengths.

Suggested Citation

  • Helmut A. Abt & Eugene Garfield, 2002. "Is the relationship between numbers of references and paper lengths the same for all sciences?," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 53(13), pages 1106-1112, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jamist:v:53:y:2002:i:13:p:1106-1112
    DOI: 10.1002/asi.10151
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    Cited by:

    1. Chatterjee Kalyan & Chowdhury Avantika, 2012. "Formation of Citation Networks by Rational Players and The Diffusion of Ideas," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 11(3), pages 1-38, September.
    2. Xiancheng Li & Wenge Rong & Haoran Shi & Jie Tang & Zhang Xiong, 2018. "The impact of conference ranking systems in computer science: a comparative regression analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(2), pages 879-907, August.
    3. Lokshin, Michael, 2009. "A survey of poverty research in Russia: Does it follow the scientific method?," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 191-212, September.
    4. Can Dai & Quan Chen & Tao Wan & Fan Liu & Yanbing Gong & Qingfeng Wang, 2021. "Literary runaway: Increasingly more references cited per academic research article from 1980 to 2019," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(8), pages 1-13, August.
    5. Massimo FLORIO & Emanuela SIRTORI, 2014. "The Evaluation of Research Infrastructures: a Cost-Benefit Analysis Framework," Departmental Working Papers 2014-10, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    6. Florio, Massimo & Sirtori, Emanuela, 2016. "Social benefits and costs of large scale research infrastructures," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 65-78.
    7. Henk F. Moed & Eugene Garfield, 2004. "In basic science the percentage of “authoritative” references decreases as bibliographies become shorter," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 60(3), pages 295-303, August.
    8. Nader Ale Ebrahim & H. Ebrahimian & Maryam Mousavi & Farzad Tahriri, 2015. "Does a Long Reference List Guarantee More Citations? Analysis of Malaysian Highly Cited and Review Papers," International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, Inovatus Services Ltd., vol. 1(3), pages 6-16, February.
    9. Rodrigo Costas & Thed N. Leeuwen & María Bordons, 2012. "Referencing patterns of individual researchers: Do top scientists rely on more extensive information sources?," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(12), pages 2433-2450, December.
    10. Jeppe Nicolaisen & Tove Faber Frandsen, 2021. "Number of references: a large-scale study of interval ratios," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(1), pages 259-285, January.

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