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The discipline dependence of citation statistics

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Abstract

This study compares the citations characteristics of researchers in engineering disciplines with other major scientific disciplines, and investigates variations in citing patterns within subdisciplines in the field of engineering. Utilizing citations statistics including Hirsch’s (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102(46):16569–16572, 2005) h-index value, we find that significant differences in citing characteristics exist between engineering disciplines and other scientific fields. Our findings also reveal statistical differences in citing characteristics between subdisciplines found within the same engineering discipline.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the National Sciences and Research Council of Canada for their financial support of our study. The technical assistance of Monika Pakstas is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Eva Lillquist

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Sheldon Green

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  1. Eva Lillquist
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  2. Sheldon Green
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Correspondence to Sheldon Green.

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Lillquist, E., Green, S. The discipline dependence of citation statistics. Scientometrics 84, 749–762 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-010-0162-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-010-0162-3

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