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The multilayered nature of reference selection

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  • María‐del‐Mar Camacho‐Miñano
  • Manuel Núñez‐Nickel

Abstract

Why authors choose some references in preference to others is a question that is still not wholly answered despite its being of interest to scientists. The relevance of references is twofold: They are a mechanism for tracing the evolution of science, and because they enhance the image of the cited authors, citations are a widely known and used indicator of scientific endeavor. Following an extensive review of the literature, we selected all papers that seek to answer the central question and demonstrate that the existing theories are not sufficient: Neither citation nor indicator theory provides a complete and convincing answer. Some perspectives in this arena remain, which are isolated from the core literature. The purpose of this article is to offer a fresh perspective on a 30‐year‐old problem by extending the context of the discussion. We suggest reviving the discussion about citation theories with a new perspective, that of the readers, by layers or phases, in the final choice of references, allowing for a new classification in which any paper, to date, could be included.

Suggested Citation

  • María‐del‐Mar Camacho‐Miñano & Manuel Núñez‐Nickel, 2009. "The multilayered nature of reference selection," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(4), pages 754-777, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jamist:v:60:y:2009:i:4:p:754-777
    DOI: 10.1002/asi.21018
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    Cited by:

    1. Iman Tahamtan & Lutz Bornmann, 2019. "What do citation counts measure? An updated review of studies on citations in scientific documents published between 2006 and 2018," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 121(3), pages 1635-1684, December.
    2. Yoscelina Iraida Hernandez-García & Mónica Anzaldo Montoya, 2021. "Flow of ideas in the study of communication channels and references in publications on nanotechnology applied to food and agriculture in Mexico," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(2), pages 995-1017, February.
    3. Yu-Wei Chang, 2013. "A comparison of citation contexts between natural sciences and social sciences and humanities," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 96(2), pages 535-553, August.
    4. Dag W. Aksnes & Liv Langfeldt & Paul Wouters, 2019. "Citations, Citation Indicators, and Research Quality: An Overview of Basic Concepts and Theories," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(1), pages 21582440198, February.
    5. Martin Ricker, 2017. "Letter to the Editor: About the quality and impact of scientific articles," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 111(3), pages 1851-1855, June.
    6. Ling-Ling Wu & Mu-Hsuan Huang & Ching-Yi Chen, 2012. "Citation patterns of the pre-web and web-prevalent environments: The moderating effects of domain knowledge," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(11), pages 2182-2194, November.
    7. Carlo D'Ippoliti, 2021. "“Many‐Citedness”: Citations Measure More Than Just Scientific Quality," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(5), pages 1271-1301, December.
    8. Barbara S. Lancho-Barrantes & Hector G. Ceballos-Cancino & Francisco J. Cantu-Ortiz, 2021. "Comparing the efficiency of countries to assimilate and apply research investment," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 1347-1369, August.
    9. Horbach, Serge & Aagaard, Kaare & Schneider, Jesper W., 2021. "Meta-Research: How problematic citing practices distort science," MetaArXiv aqyhg, Center for Open Science.
    10. Jiang, Xiaorui & Zhuge, Hai, 2019. "Forward search path count as an alternative indirect citation impact indicator," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(4).
    11. Ehsan Mohammadi & Mike Thelwall, 2013. "Assessing non-standard article impact using F1000 labels," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 97(2), pages 383-395, November.
    12. Thomas A. Hamrick & Ronald D. Fricker & Gerald G. Brown, 2010. "Assessing What Distinguishes Highly Cited from Less-Cited Papers Published in Interfaces," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 40(6), pages 454-464, December.
    13. Dirce Maria Santin & Samile Andrea De Souza Vanz & Sonia Elisa Caregnato, 2016. "Internationality of Publications, Co-Authorship, References and Citations in Brazilian Evolutionary Biology," Publications, MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-13, February.

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