Scientometrics
Volume/Issue:
Volume 59: Issue 2
The effect of highly cited papers on national citation indicators
Authors:
Dag W. Aksnes Norwegian Institute for Studies in Research and Higher Education (NIFU), Hegdehaugsvn. 31, NO-0352 Oslo, Norway

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Gunnar Sivertsen Norwegian Institute for Studies in Research and Higher Education (NIFU), Hegdehaugsvn. 31, NO-0352 Oslo, Norway

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Pages:
213–224
Online Publication Date:
01 Jan 2004
Publication Date:
01 Jan 2004
Article Category:
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1023/b:scie.0000018529.58334.eb
Restricted access

Citation distributions are extremely skewed. This paper addresses the following question: To what extent are national citation indicators influenced by a small minority of highly cited articles? This question has not been studied before at the level of national indicators. Using the scientific production of Norway as a case, we find that the average citation rates in major subfields are highly determined by one or only a few highly cited papers. Furthermore, there are large annual variations in the influence of highly cited papers on the average citation rate of the subfields. We conclude that an analysis of the underlying data for national indicators may be useful in creating awareness towards the occurrence of particular articles with great influence on what is normally considered an indicator of “national performance”, and that the common interpretation of the indicator on research policy level needs to be informed by this fact.

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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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