The relationship between highly-cited papers and the frequency of citations to other papers within-issue among three top
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The relationship between highly-cited papers and the frequency of citations to other papers within-issue among three top information science journals Brady D. Lund1 · Sanjay Kumar Maurya2 Received: 30 April 2020 © Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary 2020
Abstract This study investigates a potential relationship between highly-cited scholarly papers and the number of citations received by other papers with which they share a journal issue. Citations received by 3675 articles across 484 issues published in three top information science journals are analyzed based on the condition of whether an article was published in an issue that includes a “highly-cited” paper (two standard deviations above mean number by year). The findings indicate a statistically significant effect of highly-cited papers and citations to other papers in the same journal issue. This finding is relevant to authors and publishers when considering the structure of publications with an “issue” format. Keywords Highly cited · Citations · Issues · Effect · Relationships
Introduction Factors that influence citation of a scholarly paper have been of substantial interest to researchers for many decades. Any advantage an author might get to increase their citation count may have tremendous value and implications for processes like tenure review and salary negotiations at universities and other research institutions. Various factors have been identified that contribute to an increased citation rate, including both factors within— such as the paper’s title—and outside of the author’s control (Tahamtan et al. 2016). One potential effect that has not been given considerable thought is the effect that a highly-cited paper might have on the papers that surround it within a journal issue. While it is understood that information visibility corresponds with information use, these relationships have not been empirically studied within the context of scholarly paper citation behavior. On the surface, it seems plausible that a highly-cited paper may draw the attention of more readers * Brady D. Lund [email protected] Sanjay Kumar Maurya [email protected] 1
Emporia State University, 1 Kellogg Circle, 66801 Emporia, KS, USA
2
Mizoram University, Aizawl, India
13
Vol.:(0123456789)
Scientometrics
to a particular issue of a journal, with the other papers in that issue being the beneficiaries of this increased attention. This study is a preliminary investigation into the effect proposed above. Within the context of diffusion theory and exposure theory, which both suggest a link between information visibility/access and information use or practices, citation rates for papers published in journal issues alongside highly-cited papers are compared to those for papers that are not. Three “case studies” are selected for this investigation, which represent top research in the discipline of information science: Journal of Information Science, Information Processing and Management, and Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology. Mul
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