Can citation metrics predict the true impact of scientific papers?

Aroeira, Rita I.; Castanho, Miguel A. R. B.

doi:10.1111/febs.15255

Cited by 17 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The use of TC as a single indicator to select the most impactful articles‚ like in previous studies, 7 is not suitable to depict these changes in publication and citation activity that are described above momentarily, therefore, carries a high risk of selection bias. 21 A recent study by Chu et al demonstrated that‚ as the number of articles published per year in a scientific field grows large, citations flow disproportionately to already well-cited articles; this may lead to an entrapment in an existing canon rather than the advancement of new ideas. 9 To normalize for this potential bias, we introduced a novel supplementary selection approach by dividing the 40-y period into 2-y intervals and selecting the top 5 articles with the highest citations in each interval.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Four Decades of Clinical Liver Transplantation Research: Results of a Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis

Jiang

Liu

et al. 2022

Transplantation

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Special ArticleBackground. Nearly 40 y have passed since the 1983 National Institutes of Health Consensus-Development-Conference, which has turned liver transplantation (LT) from a clinical experiment into a routine therapeutic modality. Since‚ clinical LT has changed substantially. We aimed to comprehensively analyze the publication trends in the most-cited top-notch literature in LT science over a 4-decade period. Methods. A total of 106 523 items were identified between January 1981 and May 2021 from the Web of Science Core Collection. The top 100 articles published were selected using 2 distinct citation-based strategies to minimize bias. Various bibliometric tools were used for data synthesis and visualization. Results. The citation count for the final dataset of the top 100 articles ranged from 251 to 4721. Most articles were published by US authors (n = 61). The most prolific institution was the University of Pittsburgh (n = 15). The highest number of articles was published in Annals of Surgery, Hepatology, and Transplantation; however, Hepatology publications resulted in the highest cumulative citation of 9668. Only 10% of the articles were classified as evidence level 1. Over 90% of first/last authors were male. Our data depict the evolution of research focus over 40 y. In part, a disproportional flow of citations was observed toward already well-cited articles. This might also project a slowed canonical progress, which was described in other fields of science.Conclusions. This study highlights key trends based on a large dataset of the most-cited articles over a 4-decade period. The present analysis not only provides an important cross-sectional and forward-looking guidance to clinicians, funding bodies, and researchers but also draws attention to important socio-academic or demographic aspects in LT.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Four Decades of Clinical Liver Transplantation Research: Results of a Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis

Jiang

Liu

et al. 2022

Transplantation

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“…Scientometric assessments have become an essential component of research evaluation, and central to these is the use of citation indicators. Citations are used in the performance measurement of research departments and institutions 1 , assessment of research funding applications 2 , and promotion and hiring of research scientists 3 . Although there have been strong arguments for and against the use of citations for these purposes due to concerns about their reliability and validity as performance indicators, most research institutions across the world continue to make decisions partly based on citation data.…”

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confidence: 99%

Analysis of citation inequality in Finland and Nigeria using the Lorenz curve

Ettarh

2021

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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“…Unfortunately, this is the case of many institutions in LMICs such as Morocco. As such, over-reliance on the Impact Factor metric El Bairi et al International Journal for Educational Integrity (2023) 19:1 in academia has also involved some criticism (Ali 2021;Aroeira et al 2020;McKiernan et al 2019). The real contribution of published science should not be based on metrics only, but also on the true impact of the findings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distance education as a tool to improve researchers’ knowledge on predatory journals in countries with limited resources: the Moroccan experience

et al. 2023

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The emergence of predatory journals is a global threat for scientific integrity, particularly in under-resourced settings such as low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A bilingual course on predatory publishing using a distance education approach was developed for Moroccan researchers as a response to the imperative need for training on research ethics to implement good scientific practices. A cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted to evaluate outcomes after delivering two education sessions in both French and English. Before this course, 40% of participants indicated that they don’t verify journal quality before manuscript submission and most of them consider Scopus indexing and the impact factor as the best criteria for journal publication. Approximately 50% of surveyees did not have previous information on predatory journals before the webinar. Pressure to publish by supervisors, institutions of affiliation, or funding agencies, was noticed in 43.4% of participants. After the webinar course was delivered, remarkably, the proportion of participants with knowledge on predatory publishing was meaningfully increased from 48.9% to 81%. Importantly, 83.7% of participants indicated that they are motivated to share their new knowledge on predatory publishing with their colleagues. Moreover, the majority of respondents (73.8%) reported that publishing their research in predatory journals may damage their career and professional future. Promisingly, nearly a half or more of participants recommended the use of training based on distance education, surveillance of researchers by their mentors and affiliations, and social networks to increase awareness on predatory publishing. Almost all participants were satisfied with the content of the webinar. Trainers and research institutions in LMICs should benefit from the advent of distance education using webinar platforms to increase awareness on the issue of predatory publishing in their settings.

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Can citation metrics predict the true impact of scientific papers?

Cited by 17 publications

References 15 publications

Four Decades of Clinical Liver Transplantation Research: Results of a Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis

Four Decades of Clinical Liver Transplantation Research: Results of a Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis

Analysis of citation inequality in Finland and Nigeria using the Lorenz curve

Distance education as a tool to improve researchers’ knowledge on predatory journals in countries with limited resources: the Moroccan experience

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