Отправлено: 29.10.09 13:38. Заголовок: The other side of the coin: The intricacies of author self-citations

The other side of the coin: The intricacies of author self-citations
Scientometrics
AkadЁ¦miai KiadЁ®, co-published with Springer Science+Business Media B.V., Formerly Kluwer Academic Publishers B.V.
ISSN 0138-9130 (Print) 1588-2861 (Online)
§Ї§а§Ю§Ц§в Volume 54, Number 2 / §Є§р§Я§о 2002 §Ф.
DOI 10.1023/A:1016070029935
pp 285-290

The other side of the coin: The intricacies of author self-citations
P. Pichappan1 and S. Sarasvady1

(1) Department of Library & Information Science, Annamalai University Annamalainagar, 608002, TN., India


Abstract The present study views author self-citations, as a blend of experience and cognition of authors. This paper supports to lay down emphasis on consciousness and cognition of authors while assessing author self-citations.
IntЁ¦zet neve - Department of Library & Information Science - Annamalai University

Science is a continuum of experiences consisting of the author and objects of
experiences. AuthorsЎЇ experience is the integral part of their work that gets reflected
through self-references. Author self-citations have been mostly viewed from evaluation
aspects only, that is, too adversely. Since author self-citation measure for evaluation is
unacceptable, there is a tendency to over-expose the drawbacks of them. They can not
be rejected in toto, as they have complex nature and requires careful interpretations.
As author self-references are viewed as Ў®bias by respective authorsЎЇ, they cannot be
used for comparative evaluation of scientific merits. The citation phenomenon shows the
brick-laying nature of science. Self-citations indicate a continuous research process of
one author or a group. Thus, the value of self-cited paper is questionable, particularly
when others do not cite it.
Authors are engaged in constant and continuing inquiry into the nature of science
through a series of investigations that include a dialogue between the past and present
work including his/her own. Thus, the author self-citation is the result of the interaction
between the past and present cognition of the author. Such encounters should take place
as other relations do. If it happens so, we may attempt to provide a realistic image of
them. We need to examine what really influences self-citation.