Citation Research and Impact Metrics

When Eugene Garfield first proposed what became the Science Citation Index, the purpose was to determine how an article had influenced future research by looking at what recent publications referenced the older article. Counting the number of citations and using that number for assessment, while never the intention, none the less proved too tempting to resist. In recent years, metrics are also reflecting links, downloads, and mentions in non-traditional sources such as social media (view the Alternative Metrics tab for more).

Additionally, metrics have been developed to provide a more accurate comparison by putting a numerical measure into context within a field or journal or some other type of benchmark. Regardless of the metric, each has its weaknesses and needs to be combined with qualitative assessment; an article may be cited, read, or mentioned for negative reasons as well as positive ones. Why it is getting noticed and who is noticing it needs to be considered along with the citation count.