Understanding Citation Dynamics in Scientific Papers
Author Information
Author(s): Eom Young-Ho, Fortunato Santo
Primary Institution: Lagrange Laboratory, Institute for Scientific Interchange, Torino, Italy
Hypothesis
What function best describes the citation distributions of scientific papers?
Conclusion
The shifted power law is the most reliable model for citation distributions across different time spans.
Supporting Evidence
- The shifted power law fits citation distributions better than log-normal and simple power law models.
- Citation bursts typically occur within the first few years after publication.
- The study used a large dataset of citations from the American Physical Society.
Takeaway
This study looks at how often scientific papers are cited and finds that some papers get a lot of attention quickly after they are published.
Methodology
The study analyzed bibliometric data using Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistics to fit citation distributions to different models.
Limitations
The study only includes papers published in journals of the American Physical Society and does not account for all scientific fields.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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