Citation Analysis involves using quantative data derived from the use of citations (bibliographies, works cited, or reference pages in books, articles, or other publications) to analyze the scholarly impact of a researcher, a group of researchers, or a publication.
Citation analysis can be as simple as counting the number of times a person or group has been cited by others, a ratio of their citations to their output, or some other mathematical function that relates their citation counts to other measures.
Citation analysis is a quantitative measurement that cannot give a full picture of a researcher or journal's scholarly impact.
For individuals, many factors may influence their citation rates and measurements, including:
For journals, additional considerations may affect the impact factor:
Citation analysis should always be used with other quantitative and qualitative measures when evaluating the scholarly worth of a journal or researcher.
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