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Citation Research and Impact Metrics

Methods and metrics for evaluating scholarly and research impact.

Introduction

iCite provides bibliometric information for journal articles that have been included in the PubMed database. Citation data are drawn from: PubMed Central, European PubMed Central, CrossRef, and Web of Science. At present, only PubMed citations are included, so citations appearing from journals outside PubMed are not counted.

For an analysis by author, the following data will be produced:

  • Total number of articles within PubMed (Total Pubs)
  • Mean number of articles published per year (Pubs/Year)
  • Number of citations for the articles (Cites/Year): maximum, mean, standard error of the mean, and median
  • Relative Citation Ratio (RCR): maximum, mean, standard error of the mean, and median
  • Weighted RCR: the sum of the RCRs for the articles within the analysis group

The Relative Citation Ratio (RCR) is a NIH metric representing a citation-based measure of scientific influence. It is calculated as the cites/year of each paper, normalized to the citations per year received by NIH-funded papers in the same field and year. A paper with an RCR of 1.0 has received the same number of cites/year as the median NIH-funded paper in its field, while a paper with an RCR of 2.0 has received twice as many cites/year as the median NIH-funded paper in its field.

Instructions

  • In the PubMed search box, enter the author's name formatted as "Lastname Initials" Example: Rittman BE
  • Click on the blue "Process" button at the bottom of the screen
  • On the results page, under "Customization", use the date option, exclude non-articles, and/or deselect items you do not want to include in the calculation. As you change the parameters, the results automatically update.
  • To see a definition of each category, mouse over the category header.

For details about the information on the results page (and more), click on the Help link in the upper right corner of the screen.

In Pubmed, click on the "Advanced" link just below the search box.

For each author do a separate search as follows:

  • In the Search Builder section, change the "All Fields" to "Author" and enter the author's name (lastname initials) in the box to the right
  • Click on the blue "ADD" button to the right.
  • In the Search Builder section, change "All Fields" to "Affiliation" and enter "arizona state university" in the box to the right.
  • Click on the blue "AND" button to the right.
  • Click on the blue "Search" button to the right of the query box.
  • This will take you to the Results List: go to the top of the screen and underneath the search box, click on "Advanced" - this returns you to the search builder where you can search for the second author in your list.
  • Repeat this until you have finished searching all your authors.
  • After you have searched the last author, click on the "Advanced" link located directly under the search box (at the top of the results screen).
  • Scroll the screen down until you see the "History and Search Details" section; note that each search you did has a set number (ex., #1, #2, etc.).
  • Click on the three dots under "Actions" for your first author and select "Add Query".
  • Repeat for additional authors, making sure to select "Add with OR".
  • Click on the Search button.
  • This will show a results list that includes all the publications of the authors (duplicates are removed) (Note, if the results set is over 1,000 items, in the left-hand column, use the publication dates "results by year" option to reduce the set.)
  • On top of the Results list, look to the left of center and click on the "Save" link.
  • Choose "Selection: All results" and "Format: PMID" and click "Create File"
  • This will download a file starting with "pmid-" to whichever folder is the default save location for your browser. Open up the file and COPY the PMID List.
  • Then go to iCite
  •  PASTE the list into the box that says "Input a list of PMIDs"
  • Click on the blue "Process" button at the bottom of the screen.
  • On the results page, under "Customization", use the date option, exclude non-articles, and/or deselect items you do not want to include in the calculation. As you change the parameters, the results automatically update.

For details about the information on the results page (and more), click on the Help link in the upper right corner of the screen.

Subjects: General

The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.