Citation, Citation, Citation? Scholarly Publishing Trends on Campus

Abstract

Real estate agents on popular television shows cite location, location, location as the three most important factors in selling a house. Similarly, publishers and academics might say that the three most important factors for them, with the proliferation of university league tables and research assessment exercises, are increasingly citation, citation, citation! ¶ Publication metrics have become one of the most significant indicators for academic assessment. The scholarly process is increasingly geared to publish or perish syndromes, with number crunching of citations often taking precedence over the effective dissemination of research knowledge.