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On the causes of subject-specific citation rates in Web of Science

Author

Listed:
  • Werner Marx

    (Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research)

  • Lutz Bornmann

    (Administrative Headquarters of the Max Planck Society)

Abstract

It is well known in bibliometrics that the average number of citations per paper differs greatly between the various disciplines. The differing citation culture (in particular the different average number of references per paper and thereby the different probability of being cited) is widely seen as the cause of this variation. Based on all Web of Science (WoS) records published in 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010 we demonstrate that almost all disciplines show similar numbers of references in the appendices of their papers. Our results suggest that the average citation rate is far more influenced by the extent to which the papers (cited as references) are included in WoS as linked database records. For example, the comparatively low citation rates in the humanities are not at all the result of a lower average number of references per paper but are caused by the low fraction of linked references which refer to papers published in the core journals covered by WoS.

Suggested Citation

  • Werner Marx & Lutz Bornmann, 2015. "On the causes of subject-specific citation rates in Web of Science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 102(2), pages 1823-1827, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:102:y:2015:i:2:d:10.1007_s11192-014-1499-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-014-1499-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Benjamin M. Althouse & Jevin D. West & Carl T. Bergstrom & Theodore Bergstrom, 2009. "Differences in impact factor across fields and over time," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(1), pages 27-34, January.
    2. Chong Ju Choi & Carla C. J. M. Millar & Caroline Y. L. Wong, 2005. "Knowledge and Measurement," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Knowledge Entanglements, chapter 0, pages 77-96, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Christoph Neuhaus & Werner Marx & Hans‐Dieter Daniel, 2009. "The publication and citation impact profiles of Angewandte Chemie and the Journal of the American Chemical Society based on the sections of Chemical Abstracts: A case study on the limitations of the J," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(1), pages 176-183, January.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Lutz Bornmann & Klaus Wohlrabe, 2019. "Normalisation of citation impact in economics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(2), pages 841-884, August.
    2. Thelwall, Mike & Fairclough, Ruth, 2015. "The influence of time and discipline on the magnitude of correlations between citation counts and quality scores," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 529-541.
    3. Zharova, Alona & Härdle, Wolfgang Karl & Lessmann, Stefan, 2023. "Data-driven support for policy and decision-making in university research management: A case study from Germany," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 308(1), pages 353-368.
    4. Gita Ghiasi & Matthew Harsh & Andrea Schiffauerova, 2018. "Inequality and collaboration patterns in Canadian nanotechnology: implications for pro-poor and gender-inclusive policy," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(2), pages 785-815, May.
    5. Haunschild, Robin & Schier, Hermann & Marx, Werner & Bornmann, Lutz, 2018. "Algorithmically generated subject categories based on citation relations: An empirical micro study using papers on overall water splitting," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 436-447.
    6. Chi, Yuxue & Tang, Xianyi & Liu, Yijun, 2022. "Exploring the “awakening effect” in knowledge diffusion: a case study of publications in the library and information science domain," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(4).
    7. Bornmann, Lutz & Leydesdorff, Loet, 2015. "Does quality and content matter for citedness? A comparison with para-textual factors and over time," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 419-429.
    8. Mingyang Wang & Shi Li & Guangsheng Chen, 2017. "Detecting latent referential articles based on their vitality performance in the latest 2 years," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 112(3), pages 1557-1571, September.
    9. Zhichao Fang & Rodrigo Costas & Wencan Tian & Xianwen Wang & Paul Wouters, 2020. "An extensive analysis of the presence of altmetric data for Web of Science publications across subject fields and research topics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 124(3), pages 2519-2549, September.
    10. Binglu Wang & Yi Bu & Yang Xu, 2018. "A quantitative exploration on reasons for citing articles from the perspective of cited authors," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(2), pages 675-687, August.
    11. Bornmann, Lutz & Marx, Werner, 2018. "Critical rationalism and the search for standard (field-normalized) indicators in bibliometrics," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 598-604.
    12. Lutz Bornmann & Julian N. Marewski, 2024. "Opium in science and society: numbers and other quantifications," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(9), pages 5313-5346, September.
    13. Lutz Bornmann & Alexander Tekles & Loet Leydesdorff, 2019. "How well does I3 perform for impact measurement compared to other bibliometric indicators? The convergent validity of several (field-normalized) indicators," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 119(2), pages 1187-1205, May.
    14. Andrey Guskov & Denis Kosyakov & Irina Selivanova, 2016. "Scientometric research in Russia: impact of science policy changes," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 107(1), pages 287-303, April.
    15. Guoliang Lyu & Ganwei Shi, 2019. "On an approach to boosting a journal’s citation potential," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(3), pages 1387-1409, September.
    16. Tolga Yuret, 2018. "Author-weighted impact factor and reference return ratio: can we attain more equality among fields?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(3), pages 2097-2111, September.
    17. 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.
    18. Bornmann, Lutz & Haunschild, Robin, 2016. "Citation score normalized by cited references (CSNCR): The introduction of a new citation impact indicator," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 875-887.
    19. Nunkoo, Robin & Hall, C. Michael & Rughoobur-Seetah, Soujata & Teeroovengadum, Viraiyan, 2019. "Citation practices in tourism research: Toward a gender conscientious engagement," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    20. Loet Leydesdorff & Lutz Bornmann & Caroline S. Wagner, 2017. "Generating clustered journal maps: an automated system for hierarchical classification," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(3), pages 1601-1614, March.
    21. Werner Marx & Lutz Bornmann, 2016. "Change of perspective: bibliometrics from the point of view of cited references—a literature overview on approaches to the evaluation of cited references in bibliometrics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(2), pages 1397-1415, November.
    22. Bornmann, Lutz & Marx, Werner, 2015. "Methods for the generation of normalized citation impact scores in bibliometrics: Which method best reflects the judgements of experts?," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 408-418.
    23. Tahamtan, Iman & Bornmann, Lutz, 2018. "Core elements in the process of citing publications: Conceptual overview of the literature," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 203-216.
    24. Kasun Gomis & Ravindu Kahandawa & Ruchini Senarath Jayasinghe, 2022. "Scientometric Analysis of the Global Scientific Literature on Circularity Indicators in the Construction and Built Environment Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, December.

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