IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/scient/v129y2024i7d10.1007_s11192-024-05064-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How do official software citation formats evolve over time? A longitudinal analysis of R programming language packages

Author

Listed:
  • Yuzhuo Wang

    (Anhui University)

  • Kai Li

    (University of Tennessee)

Abstract

Under the data-driven research paradigm, research software has come to play crucial roles in nearly every stage of scientific inquiry. Scholars are advocating for the formal citation of software in academic publications, treating it on par with traditional research outputs. However, software is hardly consistently cited: one software entity can be cited as different objects, and the citations can change over time. These issues, however, are largely overlooked in existing empirical research on software citation. To fill the above gaps, the present study compares and analyzes a longitudinal dataset of citation formats of all R packages collected in 2021 and 2022, in order to understand the citation formats of R-language packages, important members in the open-source software family, and how the citations evolve over time. In particular, we investigate the different document types underlying the citations and what metadata elements in the citation formats changed over time. Furthermore, we offer an in-depth analysis of the disciplinarity of journal articles cited as software (software papers). By undertaking this research, we aim to contribute to a better understanding of the complexities associated with software citation, shedding light on future software citation policies and infrastructure.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuzhuo Wang & Kai Li, 2024. "How do official software citation formats evolve over time? A longitudinal analysis of R programming language packages," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(7), pages 3997-4019, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:129:y:2024:i:7:d:10.1007_s11192-024-05064-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-024-05064-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11192-024-05064-6
    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/s11192-024-05064-6?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. Caifan Du & Johanna Cohoon & Patrice Lopez & James Howison, 2021. "Softcite dataset: A dataset of software mentions in biomedical and economic research publications," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 72(7), pages 870-884, July.
    2. Pan, Xuelian & Yan, Erjia & Cui, Ming & Hua, Weina, 2019. "How important is software to library and information science research? A content analysis of full-text publications," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 397-406.
    3. Park, Hyoungjoo & Wolfram, Dietmar, 2019. "Research software citation in the Data Citation Index: Current practices and implications for research software sharing and reuse," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 574-582.
    4. Li, Kai & Chen, Pei-Ying & Yan, Erjia, 2019. "Challenges of measuring software impact through citations: An examination of the lme4 R package," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 449-461.
    5. Rongying Zhao & Mingkun Wei, 2017. "Impact evaluation of open source software: an Altmetrics perspective," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(2), pages 1017-1033, February.
    6. Pan, Xuelian & Yan, Erjia & Cui, Ming & Hua, Weina, 2018. "Examining the usage, citation, and diffusion patterns of bibliometric mapping software: A comparative study of three tools," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 481-493.
    7. Loet Leydesdorff, 2009. "How are new citation‐based journal indicators adding to the bibliometric toolbox?," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(7), pages 1327-1336, July.
    8. Li, Kai & Yan, Erjia & Feng, Yuanyuan, 2017. "How is R cited in research outputs? Structure, impacts, and citation standard," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 989-1002.
    9. Wang, Yuzhuo & Zhang, Chengzhi, 2020. "Using the full-text content of academic articles to identify and evaluate algorithm entities in the domain of natural language processing," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 14(4).
    10. Bo Yang & Ronald Rousseau & Xue Wang & Shuiqing Huang, 2018. "How important is scientific software in bioinformatics research? A comparative study between international and Chinese research communities," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 69(9), pages 1122-1133, September.
    11. Xuelian Pan & Erjia Yan & Weina Hua, 2016. "Disciplinary differences of software use and impact in scientific literature," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(3), pages 1593-1610, December.
    12. Shu, Fei & Julien, Charles-Antoine & Zhang, Lin & Qiu, Junping & Zhang, Jing & Larivière, Vincent, 2019. "Comparing journal and paper level classifications of science," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 202-225.
    13. Fox, John & Leanage, Allison, 2016. "R and the Journal of Statistical Software," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 73(i02).
    14. Li, Kai & Yan, Erjia, 2018. "Co-mention network of R packages: Scientific impact and clustering structure," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 87-100.
    15. Pan, Xuelian & Yan, Erjia & Wang, Qianqian & Hua, Weina, 2015. "Assessing the impact of software on science: A bootstrapped learning of software entities in full-text papers," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 860-871.
    16. Leonardo Candela & Donatella Castelli & Paolo Manghi & Alice Tani, 2015. "Data journals: A survey," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 66(9), pages 1747-1762, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Enrique Orduña-Malea & Rodrigo Costas, 2021. "Link-based approach to study scientific software usage: the case of VOSviewer," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(9), pages 8153-8186, September.
    2. Yuzhuo Wang & Chengzhi Zhang & Kai Li, 2022. "A review on method entities in the academic literature: extraction, evaluation, and application," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(5), pages 2479-2520, May.
    3. Li, Kai & Chen, Pei-Ying & Yan, Erjia, 2019. "Challenges of measuring software impact through citations: An examination of the lme4 R package," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 449-461.
    4. Wang, Yuzhuo & Zhang, Chengzhi, 2020. "Using the full-text content of academic articles to identify and evaluate algorithm entities in the domain of natural language processing," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 14(4).
    5. Alsudais, Abdulkareem, 2021. "In-code citation practices in open research software libraries," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2).
    6. Lu Jiang & Xinyu Kang & Shan Huang & Bo Yang, 2022. "A refinement strategy for identification of scientific software from bioinformatics publications," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(6), pages 3293-3316, June.
    7. Robert Tomaszewski, 2023. "Visibility, impact, and applications of bibliometric software tools through citation analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(7), pages 4007-4028, July.
    8. Pan, Xuelian & Yan, Erjia & Cui, Ming & Hua, Weina, 2019. "How important is software to library and information science research? A content analysis of full-text publications," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 397-406.
    9. Bikun Chen & Dannan Deng & Zhouyan Zhong & Chengzhi Zhang, 2020. "Exploring linguistic characteristics of highly browsed and downloaded academic articles," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 122(3), pages 1769-1790, March.
    10. Li, Kai & Yan, Erjia, 2018. "Co-mention network of R packages: Scientific impact and clustering structure," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 87-100.
    11. Pan, Xuelian & Yan, Erjia & Cui, Ming & Hua, Weina, 2018. "Examining the usage, citation, and diffusion patterns of bibliometric mapping software: A comparative study of three tools," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 481-493.
    12. Caifan Du & Johanna Cohoon & Patrice Lopez & James Howison, 2021. "Softcite dataset: A dataset of software mentions in biomedical and economic research publications," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 72(7), pages 870-884, July.
    13. Avick Kumar Dey & Pijush Kanti Dutta Pramanik & Prasenjit Choudhury & Goutam Bandopadhyay, 2021. "Distinctive author ranking using DEA indexing," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 601-620, April.
    14. Xuelian Pan & Erjia Yan & Weina Hua, 2016. "Disciplinary differences of software use and impact in scientific literature," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(3), pages 1593-1610, December.
    15. Xiaorui Jiang & Jingqiang Chen, 2023. "Contextualised segment-wise citation function classification," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(9), pages 5117-5158, September.
    16. Kai Li & Chenyue Jiao, 2022. "The data paper as a sociolinguistic epistemic object: A content analysis on the rhetorical moves used in data paper abstracts," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 73(6), pages 834-846, June.
    17. Daniel Torres-Salinas & Nicolás Robinson-García & Álvaro Cabezas-Clavijo & Evaristo Jiménez-Contreras, 2014. "Analyzing the citation characteristics of books: edited books, book series and publisher types in the book citation index," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 98(3), pages 2113-2127, March.
    18. Raf Guns & Yu Xian Liu & Dilruba Mahbuba, 2011. "Q-measures and betweenness centrality in a collaboration network: a case study of the field of informetrics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 87(1), pages 133-147, April.
    19. Muhammad Farooq Islam & Ozge Can, 2024. "Integrating digital and sustainable entrepreneurship through business models: a bibliometric analysis," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 14(1), pages 1-18, December.
    20. Mueller-Langer, Frank & Andreoli-Versbach, Patrick, 2018. "Open access to research data: Strategic delay and the ambiguous welfare effects of mandatory data disclosure," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 20-34.

    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:129:y:2024:i:7:d:10.1007_s11192-024-05064-6. 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.