Scientometrics
Volume/Issue:
Volume 48: Issue 3
A Heuristic Study of the First-Citation Distribution
Author:
Leo Egghe LUC, Diepenbeek, Belgium
UIA, Wilrijk, Belgium

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Pages:
345–359
Online Publication Date:
01 Jul 2000
Publication Date:
01 Jul 2000
Article Category:
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1005688404778
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The first-citation distribution, i.e. the cumulative distribution of the time period between publication of an article and the time it receives its first citation, has never been modelled by using well-known informetric distributions. An attempt to this is given in this paper. For the diachronous aging distribution we use a simple decreasing exponential model. For the distribution of the total number of received citations we use a classical Lotka function. The combination of these two tools yield new first-citation distributions.

The model is then tested by applying nonlinear regression techniques. The obtained fits are very good and comparable with older experimental results of Rousseau and of Gupta and Rousseau. However our single model is capable of fitting all first-citation graphs, concave as well as S-shaped; in the older results one needed two different models for it.

Our model is the function
e1

Here γ is the fraction of the papers that eventually get cited, t1 is the time of the first citation, a is the aging rate and α is Lotka's exponent. The combination of a and α in one formula is, to the best of our knowledge, new. The model hence provides estimates for these two important parameters.

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  • Egghe, L. Rousseau, R. 1990 Introduction to Informetrics. Quantitative Methods in Library, Documentation and Information Science Elsevier Amsterdam.

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  • GlÅnzel, W. 1992 On some stopping times of citation processes. From theory to indicators Information Processing and Management 28 53–60.

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  • Gupta, B.M., Rousseau, R. (1999), Further investigations into the first-citation process: the case of population genetics. Libres, 9(2), aztec.lib.utk.edu/libres/libre9n2/fc.htm.

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  • Matricciani, E. 1991 The probability distribution of the age of references in engineering papers IEEE Transactions of Professional Communication 34 7–12.

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  • Motylev, V. M. 1981 Study into the stochastic process of change in the literature citation pattern and possible approaches to literature obsolescence estimation International Forum on Information and Documentation 6 3–12.

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  • Rousseau, R. 1994 Double exponential models for first-citation processes Scientometrics 30 213–227.

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Cover Scientometrics
Scientometrics
Print ISSN:
0138-9130
Online ISSN:
1588-2861

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Scientometrics
Language English
Size B5
Year of
Foundation		 1978
Volumes
per Year		 1
Issues
per Year		 12
Founder Akadémiai Kiadó
Founder's
Address		 H-1117 Budapest, Hungary 1516 Budapest, PO Box 245.
Publisher Akadémiai Kiadó
Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Publisher's
Address		 H-1117 Budapest, Hungary 1516 Budapest, PO Box 245.
CH-6330 Cham, Switzerland Gewerbestrasse 11.
Responsible
Publisher		 Chief Executive Officer, Akadémiai Kiadó
ISSN 0138-9130 (Print)
ISSN 1588-2861 (Online)

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