Comparative citation analysis of duplicate or highly related publications

Abstract

Four cases, illustrated by four examples, of duplicate or highly related publications can be distinguished and are analyzed here using citation data obtained from the Science Citation Index (SCI): (1) publication by different authors in the same journal; (2) the same author(s) publishing in different journals; (3) publication by different authors in different journals; (4) the same author(s) publishing highly related papers simultaneously in the same journal, often as part of a series of papers. Example 1, illustrating case 1, is an occurrence of highly related publications in mechanistic organic chemistry. Example 2, from analytical organic chemistry, contains elements of cases 2 and 3. Example 3, dealing solely with case 3, discusses two time-delayed publications from analytical biochemistry, which were highlighted by Garfield several times in the past to show how the SCI could be utilized to avoid duplicate publication. Example 4, derived from synthetic organic chemistry (total syntheses of taxol), contains elements of cases 1, 3, and 4 and, to a lesser extent, case 2. The citation records of the highly related or duplicate publications can deviate considerably from the journal impact factors; this was observed in three of the four examples relating to cases 2, 3, and 4. The examples suggest that citation of a paper may depend significantly on the journal in which it is published. As an indicator of this dependence, the journals in which the papers used in the present examples appeared were examined. Other factors such as key words in the paper title may also play a role.

Impact factor: outdated artefact or stepping-stone to journal certification?

“…Unreliable correlation between TRIF and independent measures of evidence (Bain & Myles 2005) and quality (Seglen 1989, Woolgar 1991, Seglen 1997, Bath et al 1998, Frank 2003, Walter et al 2003, Bernstam et al 2006, Maier 2006, Ogden & Bartley 2008, Glynn et al 2010, Goldstein & Maier 2010, Schlumm 2010. Citation rates (and hence TRIF) can be influenced by factors other than scientific merit (Knothe 2006, Calver & Bradley 2010, Perneger 2010. Weak correlation between TRIF and article rejecton rates (Kurmis & Kurmis 2006).…”

Informetrics at the beginning of the 21st century—A review

“…von Elm, Poglia, Walder, and Tramer (2004) studied duplication in medical research based on review articles. Knothe (2006) provided concrete examples of different types of duplications and analyzed the citation patterns of the duplicates. Lewison (2001) compared the productivity and citation counts of female and male researchers from Iceland.…”

Should citations be field-normalized in evaluative bibliometrics? An empirical analysis based on propensity score matching

“…Stanbrook and Redelmeier (2005) conclude that "journals act as passive conduits for scientific content, the impact of an article was strongly influenced by which journal published it. The journal impact factor appears to represent an accurate estimate of the relative ability of a journal to enhance article impact beyond the baseline contribution from article authors" (see also Knothe, 2006).…”