%0 Journal Article %1 bornmann2014wisdom %A Bornmann, Lutz %A Marx, Werner %D 2014 %J Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology %K evaluation referenzen zitationsanalyse %N 6 %P 1288--1292 %R 10.1002/asi.23100 %T The wisdom of citing scientists %U http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asi.23100 %V 65 %X This Brief Communication discusses the benefits of citation analysis in research evaluation based on Galton's “Wisdom of Crowds” (1907). Citations are based on the assessment of many which is why they can be considered to have some credibility. However, we show that citations are incomplete assessments and that one cannot assume that a high number of citations correlates with a high level of usefulness. Only when one knows that a rarely cited paper has been widely read is it possible to say—strictly speaking—that it was obviously of little use for further research. Using a comparison with “like” data, we try to determine that cited reference analysis allows for a more meaningful analysis of bibliometric data than times-cited analysis.

@article{bornmann2014wisdom, abstract = {This Brief Communication discusses the benefits of citation analysis in research evaluation based on Galton's “Wisdom of Crowds” (1907). Citations are based on the assessment of many which is why they can be considered to have some credibility. However, we show that citations are incomplete assessments and that one cannot assume that a high number of citations correlates with a high level of usefulness. Only when one knows that a rarely cited paper has been widely read is it possible to say—strictly speaking—that it was obviously of little use for further research. Using a comparison with “like” data, we try to determine that cited reference analysis allows for a more meaningful analysis of bibliometric data than times-cited analysis.}, added-at = {2014-05-09T08:40:13.000+0200}, author = {Bornmann, Lutz and Marx, Werner}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2c9647aa5c3e37b0b11b6c696bd28abd1/wdees}, description = {The wisdom of citing scientists - Bornmann - 2013 - Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology - Wiley Online Library}, doi = {10.1002/asi.23100}, interhash = {b38cdaeb65140c59f3284ef3a7e40d4b}, intrahash = {c9647aa5c3e37b0b11b6c696bd28abd1}, issn = {2330-1643}, journal = {Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology}, keywords = {evaluation referenzen zitationsanalyse}, number = 6, pages = {1288--1292}, timestamp = {2014-05-09T08:40:13.000+0200}, title = {The wisdom of citing scientists}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asi.23100}, volume = 65, year = 2014 }