IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/scient/v116y2018i2d10.1007_s11192-018-2780-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A parameter-free index for identifying under-cited sleeping beauties in science

Author

Listed:
  • Jian Du

    (Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences)

  • Yishan Wu

    (Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development)

Abstract

We developed a systematic methodology for identifying the under-cited (or not-so-highly cited) Sleeping Beauty (SB) publications and tried to figure out their key characteristics. Based on the identification framework of “beauty coefficient” (B) introduced by Ke et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112:7426–7431, 2015), taking into account the whole citation history of the publications concerned, we substituted yearly citations in “beauty coefficient” with yearly cumulative percentage of citations, and eliminated the denominator in “beauty coefficient” since the curve of a given document’s cumulative citations is always monotonically increasing if only the document is cited. The value of the modified beauty coefficient is denoted as Bcp. We also redefined the awakening year, sleeping length and sleeping depth within the Bcp framework with the intention of avoiding arbitrary thresholds as much as possible. We tested the new index using the data of SB articles identified from Science and Nature. The results showed that Bcp is more sensitive in identifying the “lower level SBs”, which refers to the case when the total citations and the maximum annual citations of SBs are not so high in comparison with other typical SBs. Bcp works better than B in at least two aspects: (1) it “punishes” the situations when the SBs experienced early citations instead of continuous sleeping; (2) it allows for comparing the extent of delayed citation impact of publications in different fields with different citation patterns. We also figured out some key characteristics of such SB publications and pondered some policy implications about the associations of SB publications with transformative research, research front and research evaluation.

Suggested Citation

  • Jian Du & Yishan Wu, 2018. "A parameter-free index for identifying under-cited sleeping beauties in science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(2), pages 959-971, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:116:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11192-018-2780-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-018-2780-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11192-018-2780-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11192-018-2780-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Onodera, Natsuo, 2016. "Properties of an index of citation durability of an article," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 981-1004.
    2. Jian Wang & Bart Thijs & Wolfgang Glänzel, 2015. "Interdisciplinarity and Impact: Distinct Effects of Variety, Balance, and Disparity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(5), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Jiang Li & Fred Y. Ye, 2016. "Distinguishing sleeping beauties in science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 108(2), pages 821-828, August.
    4. Rodrigo Costas & Thed N. van Leeuwen & Anthony F.J. van Raan, 2010. "Is scientific literature subject to a ‘Sell-By-Date’? A general methodology to analyze the ‘durability’ of scientific documents," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 61(2), pages 329-339, February.
    5. Anthony F. J. van Raan, 2004. "Sleeping Beauties in science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 59(3), pages 467-472, March.
    6. Trapido, Denis, 2015. "How novelty in knowledge earns recognition: The role of consistent identities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(8), pages 1488-1500.
    7. Hui Fang, 2018. "Analysing the variation tendencies of the numbers of yearly citations for sleeping beauties in science by using derivative analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(2), pages 1051-1070, May.
    8. Jian Wang, 2013. "Citation time window choice for research impact evaluation," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 94(3), pages 851-872, March.
    9. Anthony F. J. Raan, 2017. "Sleeping beauties cited in patents: Is there also a dormitory of inventions?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(3), pages 1123-1156, March.
    10. Yuxian Liu & Ronald Rousseau, 2014. "Citation analysis and the development of science: A case study using articles by some Nobel prize winners," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 65(2), pages 281-289, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yang, Jinqing & Bu, Yi & Lu, Wei & Huang, Yong & Hu, Jiming & Huang, Shengzhi & Zhang, Li, 2022. "Identifying keyword sleeping beauties: A perspective on the knowledge diffusion process," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1).
    2. Milad Haghani & Pegah Varamini, 2021. "Temporal evolution, most influential studies and sleeping beauties of the coronavirus literature," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(8), pages 7005-7050, August.
    3. 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).
    4. Miura, Takahiro & Asatani, Kimitaka & Sakata, Ichiro, 2023. "Revisiting the uniformity and inconsistency of slow-cited papers in science," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1).
    5. Hou, Jianhua & Yang, Xiucai, 2020. "Social media-based sleeping beauties: Defining, identifying and features," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 14(2).
    6. Hui Fang, 2019. "A transition stage co-citation criterion for identifying the awakeners of sleeping beauty publications," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 121(1), pages 307-322, October.
    7. Xin Li & Xuli Tang & Wei Lu, 2024. "How biomedical papers accumulated their clinical citations: a large-scale retrospective analysis based on PubMed," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(6), pages 3315-3339, June.
    8. Anthony F. J. van Raan, 2021. "Sleeping beauties gain impact in overdrive mode," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(5), pages 4311-4332, May.
    9. Li, Xin & Ma, Xiaodi & Feng, Ye, 2024. "Early identification of breakthrough research from sleeping beauties using machine learning," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2).
    10. Jianhua Hou & Hao Li & Yang Zhang, 2023. "Altmetrics-based sleeping beauties: necessity or just a supplement?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(10), pages 5477-5506, October.
    11. Peter Kokol & Helena Blažun Vošner & Jernej Završnik & Grega Žlahtič, 2022. "Sleeping beauties in health informatics research," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(8), pages 5073-5081, August.
    12. Jianhua Hou & Xiucai Yang & Haoyang Song & Haiyue Yao, 2023. "Will patent family be dormant? Research on the identification and characteristics of sleeping beauty’s patent family," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(10), pages 5361-5387, October.
    13. Yang, Yu-Hsiang & Chiang, Yao-Min & Lin, Hung-Lung, 2024. "Sleeping beauties in finance," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PB).
    14. Du, Jian & Li, Peixin & Haunschild, Robin & Sun, Yinan & Tang, Xiaoli, 2020. "Paper-patent citation linkages as early signs for predicting delayed recognized knowledge: Macro and micro evidence," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 14(2).
    15. Jianhua Hou & Xiucai Yang, 2019. "Patent sleeping beauties: evolutionary trajectories and identification methods," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(1), pages 187-215, July.
    16. Helena H. Zhang & Fred Y. Ye, 2020. "Identifying ‘associated-sleeping-beauties’ in ‘swan-groups’ based on small qualified datasets of physics and economics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 122(3), pages 1525-1537, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jianhua Hou & Xiucai Yang, 2019. "Patent sleeping beauties: evolutionary trajectories and identification methods," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(1), pages 187-215, July.
    2. Min, Chao & Sun, Jianjun & Pei, Lei & Ding, Ying, 2016. "Measuring delayed recognition for papers: Uneven weighted summation and total citations," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 1153-1165.
    3. Wang, Jian & Veugelers, Reinhilde & Stephan, Paula, 2017. "Bias against novelty in science: A cautionary tale for users of bibliometric indicators," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 1416-1436.
    4. Hui Fang, 2018. "Analysing the variation tendencies of the numbers of yearly citations for sleeping beauties in science by using derivative analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(2), pages 1051-1070, May.
    5. Hou, Jianhua & Yang, Xiucai, 2020. "Social media-based sleeping beauties: Defining, identifying and features," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 14(2).
    6. Onodera, Natsuo, 2016. "Properties of an index of citation durability of an article," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 981-1004.
    7. Zhang, Ruizhi & Wang, Jian & Mei, Yajun, 2017. "Search for evergreens in science: A functional data analysis," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 629-644.
    8. Miura, Takahiro & Asatani, Kimitaka & Sakata, Ichiro, 2023. "Revisiting the uniformity and inconsistency of slow-cited papers in science," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1).
    9. Sotaro Shibayama & Jian Wang, 2020. "Measuring originality in science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 122(1), pages 409-427, January.
    10. You Song & Fangling Situ & Hongjun Zhu & Jinzhi Lei, 2018. "To be the Prince to wake up Sleeping Beauty: the rediscovery of the delayed recognition studies," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(1), pages 9-24, October.
    11. Hui Fang, 2019. "A transition stage co-citation criterion for identifying the awakeners of sleeping beauty publications," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 121(1), pages 307-322, October.
    12. Cristina López-Duarte & Marta M. Vidal-Suárez & Belén González-Díaz, 2019. "Cross-national distance and international business: an analysis of the most influential recent models," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 121(1), pages 173-208, October.
    13. Jian Wang & Bart Thijs & Wolfgang Glänzel, 2015. "Interdisciplinarity and Impact: Distinct Effects of Variety, Balance, and Disparity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(5), pages 1-18, May.
    14. Guoqiang Liang & Haiyan Hou & Xiaodan Lou & Zhigang Hu, 2019. "Qualifying threshold of “take-off” stage for successfully disseminated creative ideas," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(3), pages 1193-1208, September.
    15. Wang, Jian, 2016. "Knowledge creation in collaboration networks: Effects of tie configuration," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 68-80.
    16. Yang, Yu-Hsiang & Chiang, Yao-Min & Lin, Hung-Lung, 2024. "Sleeping beauties in finance," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PB).
    17. Craig Aaen-Stockdale, 2017. "Selfish Memes: An Update of Richard Dawkins’ Bibliometric Analysis of Key Papers in Sociobiology," Publications, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-9, May.
    18. Adil El Aichouchi & Philippe Gorry, 2018. "Delayed recognition of Judah Folkman’s hypothesis on tumor angiogenesis: when a Prince awakens a Sleeping Beauty by self-citation," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(1), pages 385-399, July.
    19. Soo Jeung Lee & Christian Schneijderberg & Yangson Kim & Isabel Steinhardt, 2021. "Have Academics’ Citation Patterns Changed in Response to the Rise of World University Rankings? A Test Using First-Citation Speeds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-19, August.
    20. Shiji Chen & Yanhui Song & Fei Shu & Vincent Larivière, 2022. "Interdisciplinarity and impact: the effects of the citation time window," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(5), pages 2621-2642, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:116:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11192-018-2780-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.