Lisciandra, Chiara (2022) Are Citation Metrics a Good Thing? In: UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

Citation metrics are statistical measures of scientific outputs that draw on citation indexes. They purport to capture the impact of scientific articles and the journals in which they appear. As evaluative tools, citation metrics are mostly used in the natural sciences, but they are also acquiring an important role in the humanities, thereby affecting the development of research programs and institutions. While the strengths and weaknesses of citation metrics are extensively debated in a variety of fields, they have only recently started attracting attention in the philosophy of science. This paper takes a further step in this direction and presents an analysis of citation metrics from the perspective of a Kuhnian model for the development of science. To do that, it starts with an overview of citation metrics both at the general level and at the level of specific metrics, such as Impact Factor, h-index, and field-specific indicators. After that, it engages with Gillies’ argument against the use of citation metrics for scientific research. According to Gillies (2008), citation metrics tend to over-protect normal science at the expenses of revolutionary science. This paper shows that, under certain conditions, citation metrics can in fact arbitrarily hinder the development of normal science and, in light of this, it cautions against using them for evaluative purposes.

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Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (UNSPECIFIED)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Lisciandra, Chiara chiara.lisciandra@gmail.com 0000-0001-8141-2100
Keywords:	Citation Metrics; Peer Review; Philosophy of Science Policy; Kuhn
Subjects:	General Issues > Science and Society General Issues > Science and Policy General Issues > Science vs. Pseudoscience General Issues > Social Epistemology of Science General Issues > Theory Change
Depositing User:	Dr Chiara Lisciandra
Date Deposited:	08 Nov 2022 21:10
Last Modified:	08 Nov 2022 21:10
Item ID:	21375
Subjects:	General Issues > Science and Society General Issues > Science and Policy General Issues > Science vs. Pseudoscience General Issues > Social Epistemology of Science General Issues > Theory Change
Date:	October 2022
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/21375

Available Versions of this Item

• Are Citation Metrics a Good Thing? (deposited 08 Nov 2022 21:10) [Currently Displayed]
  • Are Citation Metrics a Good Thing? (deposited 15 Jan 2024 23:49)
    • Citation Metrics: A Philosophy of Science Perspective. (deposited 15 Jan 2024 23:49)

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