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The practice of self-citations: a longitudinal study

Author

Listed:
  • Silvio Peroni

    (University of Bologna
    University of Bologna)

  • Paolo Ciancarini

    (University of Bologna
    Innopolis University)

  • Aldo Gangemi

    (University of Bologna)

  • Andrea Giovanni Nuzzolese

    (National Research Council)

  • Francesco Poggi

    (University of Bologna)

  • Valentina Presutti

    (National Research Council)

Abstract

In this article, we discuss the outcomes of an experiment where we analysed whether and to what extent the introduction, in 2012, of the new research assessment exercise in Italy (a.k.a. Italian Scientific Habilitation) affected self-citation behaviours in the Italian research community. The Italian Scientific Habilitation attests to the scientific maturity of researchers and in Italy, as in many other countries, is a requirement for accessing to a professorship. To this end, we obtained from ScienceDirect 35,673 articles published from 1957 to 2016 by the participants to the 2012 Italian Scientific Habilitation, that resulted in the extraction of 1,379,050 citations retrieved through Semantic Publishing technologies. Our analysis showed an overall increment in author self-citations (i.e. where the citing article and the cited article share at least one author) in several of the 24 academic disciplines considered. However, we depicted a stronger causal relation between such increment and the rules introduced by the 2012 Italian Scientific Habilitation in 10 out of 24 disciplines analysed.

Suggested Citation

  • Silvio Peroni & Paolo Ciancarini & Aldo Gangemi & Andrea Giovanni Nuzzolese & Francesco Poggi & Valentina Presutti, 2020. "The practice of self-citations: a longitudinal study," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 123(1), pages 253-282, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:123:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s11192-020-03397-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-020-03397-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Hui Li & Weishu Liu, 2020. "Same same but different: self-citations identified through Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 124(3), pages 2723-2732, September.
    2. Chih-Hsing Liu & Jun-You Lin, 2024. "Collaboration-based scientific productivity: evidence from Nobel laureates," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(7), pages 3735-3768, July.
    3. Federica Bologna & Angelo Iorio & Silvio Peroni & Francesco Poggi, 2023. "Do open citations give insights on the qualitative peer-review evaluation in research assessments? An analysis of the Italian National Scientific Qualification," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(1), pages 19-53, January.
    4. Gordana Budimir & Sophia Rahimeh & Sameh Tamimi & Primož Južnič, 2021. "Comparison of self-citation patterns in WoS and Scopus databases based on national scientific production in Slovenia (1996–2020)," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(3), pages 2249-2267, March.
    5. Maria Cristiana Martini & Elvira Pelle & Francesco Poggi & Andrea Sciandra, 2022. "The role of citation networks to explain academic promotions: an empirical analysis of the Italian national scientific qualification," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(10), pages 5633-5659, October.
    6. Abramo, Giovanni & D'Angelo, Ciriaco Andrea & Grilli, Leonardo, 2021. "The effects of citation-based research evaluation schemes on self-citation behavior," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4).
    7. Erik Boetto & Maria Pia Fantini & Aldo Gangemi & Davide Golinelli & Manfredi Greco & Andrea Giovanni Nuzzolese & Valentina Presutti & Flavia Rallo, 2021. "Using altmetrics for detecting impactful research in quasi-zero-day time-windows: the case of COVID-19," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(2), pages 1189-1215, February.

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