PurposeThe aim of this paper is to scrutinize the accessibility and decay of web references (URLs) cited in five open access social sciences journals indexed by ISI.Design/methodology/approachAfter acquiring all the papers published by these journals during 2002‐2007, their web citations were extracted and analyzed from an accessibility point of view. Moreover, for initially missed citations complementary pathways such as using Internet Explorer and the Google search engine were employed.FindingsThe study revealed that at first check 73 per cent of URLs are accessible, while 27 per cent have disappeared. It is notable that the rate of accessibility increased to 89 per cent and the rate of decay decreased to 11 per cent after using complementary pathways. The “.net” domain, with an availability of 96 per cent (a decay of 4 per cent) has the greatest stability and persistence among all domains, while the most stable file format is PDF, with an availability of 93 per cent (a decay of 7 per cent).Originality/valueGiven the inevitable, destructive and progressing decay phenomenon in web citations, after estimating the extent of this decay for five journals using innovative and standard methods, this paper suggests recommendations for preventing it. The paper carries research value for web content providers, publishers, editors, authors and researchers.

PurposeThe primary objective of the present study was to design and develop a model to identify the antecedents and consequences of user satisfaction with digital libraries.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical framework of this study was based on information system success theory, technology acceptance model (TAM), media affinity theory, satisfaction-loyalty theory and engagement theory. In so doing, eight hypothesized relationships were formulated to develop the conceptual model. The study approach was quantitative. Using simple random sampling technique, a total of 409 Iranian students participated in the study and responded to the survey. Descriptive and inferential data analysis was also performed using SPSS and SmartPLS3 software.FindingsThe results showed that the generic usability of digital library and the quality of digital resources could be used as a functional theoretical framework to predict and understand the factors contributing to user satisfaction in the domain of digital library. Increasing user satisfaction with digital library may have implications including recommending the digital library to others, the digital library reusing as well as the digital library engaging and integrating with them. It should be noted that system quality, service quality, and information quality are important factors in the formation of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and digital libraries' affinity.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to empirically evaluate the antecedents and consequences of the user satisfaction with digital library presenting a new model. The model presented in this study can be used in future research as well. Also, this study has eloquently expanded the theories of user satisfaction with digital libraries.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the presence of highly cited papers of Nature in social media websites and tools. It also tries to examine the correlation between altmetric and bibliometric indicators. Design/methodology/approach This descriptive study was carried out using altmetric indicators. The research sample consisted of 1,000 most-cited articles in Nature. In February 2019, the bibliographic information of these articles was extracted from the Scopus database. Then, the titles of all articles were manually searched on Google, and by referring to the article in the journal website and altmetric institution, the data related to social media presence and altmetric score of articles were collected. The data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS. Findings According to the results of the study, from 1,000 articles, 989 of them (98.9 per cent) were mentioned at least once in different social media websites and tools. The most used altmetric source in highly cited articles was Mendeley (98.9 per cent), followed by Citeulike (79.8 per cent) and Wikipedia (69.4 per cent). Most Tweets, blog posts, Facebook posts, news stories, readers in Mendeley, Citeulike and Connotea and Wikipedia citations belonged to the article titled “Mastering the game of Go with deep neural networks and tree search”. The highest altmetric score was 3,135 which belonged to this paper. Most tweeters and articles’ readers were from the USA. The membership type of the tweeters was public membership. In terms of fields of study, most readers were PhD students in Agricultural and Biological Sciences. Finally, the results of Spearman’s Correlation revealed positive significant statistical correlation between all altmetric indicators and received citations of highly cited articles (p-value = 0.0001). Practical implications The results of this study can help researchers, editors and editorial boards of journals better understand the importance and benefits of using social media and tools to publish articles. Originality/value Altmetrics is a relatively new field, and in particular, there are not many studies related to the presence of articles in various social media until now. Accordingly, in this study, a comprehensive altmetric analysis was carried out on 1000 most-cited articles of one of the world's most reliable journals.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the usage, captures, mentions, social media and citations of highly cited papers of Library and information science (LIS). Design/methodology/approach This study is quantitative research that was conducted using scientometrics and altmetrics indicators. The research sample consists of LIS classic papers. The papers contain highly cited papers of LIS that are introduced by Google Scholar. The research data have been gathered from Google Scholar, Scopus and Plum Analytics Categories. The data analysis has been done by Excel and SPSS applications. Findings The data indicate that among the highly cited articles of LIS, the highest score regarding the usage, captures, mentions and social media and the most abundance of citations belong to “Citation advantage of open access articles” and “Usage patterns of collaborative tagging systems.” Based on the results of Spearman statistical tests, there is a positive significant correlation between Google Scholar Citations and all studied indicators. However, only the correlation between Google Scholar Citations with capture metrics (p-value = 0.047) and citation metrics (p-value = 0.0001) was statistically significant. Originality/value Altmetrics indicators can be used as complement traditional indicators of Scientometrics to study the impact of papers. Therefore, the Altmetrics knowledge of LIS researchers and experts and practicing new studies in this field will be very important.

Purpose The growing popularity of e-commerce, in recent years, has led to an increase in sharing information in cyberspace. Personality traits are one of the most effective personal factors in sharing information on business websites. This study aims to investigate the relationship between personality traits and intention to share information on commercial websites. Design/methodology/approach In this survey study, structural equation modeling was used. The statistical population of this study consisted of 385 Iranian students. Two questionnaires, i.e. personality traits and intention to share information, were used to collect the required data. The validity of the research instruments was estimated by calculating the average variance extracted. Furthermore, the reliability was assessed and confirmed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and composite reliability. Data analysis was performed with AMOS and partial least squares statistical software. Findings The results indicated that the components of personality traits including authoritarianism, self-esteem, locus of control and adaptation had a significant positive effect on intention to share information. Originality/value In this study, the authors designed a model to examine the effect of personality traits on intention to share information on commercial websites.