Extinction by citation deficiency: are botany journals at risk?
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-09-2021-0181 |
| Published date | 05 January 2022 |
| Date | 05 January 2022 |
| Pages | 996-1007 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management,Classification & cataloguing,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Scholarly communications/publishing,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
| Author | Ian Timothy Riley |
Extinction by citation deficiency:
are botany journals at risk?
Ian Timothy Riley
Faculty of Agricultural Science and Technologies, Ni
gde €
Omer Halisdemir University,
Ni
gde, Turkey
Abstract
Purpose –With the current dynamics of scientific publishing increasingly driven by citation metrics, it is
quite possible this will lead to the loss of some lower-ranked journals as they will be undervalued by authors,
research institutionsand research funders. This has been specifically predicted for natural science journals, but
the efforts of editors of such journals to improve reputation have not been quantitatively assessed. This
research aimed to fill this knowledge gap and assess the potential vulnerability of lower-ranked botany
journals.
Design/methodology/approach –Changes in article citation rates since 2009 for 21 lower-ranked general
botany journals were examined by least squares linear regression and factors potentially predictive of higher
citation potential by principal component analysis. The findings were then examined in a case study of the
publishing that followed the celebrated discovery of a living-fossil plant (Wollemia nobilis) in the mid-1990s.
Findings –Article citation rates steadily declined across most of these 21 journals over the period, and if
submissions had been favoured (directly or indirectly) for citation potential, this appears to have been an
ineffective, perhaps even a flawed, endeavour. Analysis of quantifiable article attributes across a subset of
these journals revealed inconsistent relationships with no predictive value for citation potential. The case study
clearly highlighted some processes contributing to declining citation rates and the value of botanical reporting
well beyond that indicated by citation metrics.
Research limitations/implications –It is not possible to know how important prediction of citation
potential (directly or indirectly) is when journal editors accept papers for review or publication (such
information is not made public, and this might not be a formalised process), so this study is only based what is
considered (by the author) to be a reasonable assumption that all journals aim to improve their reputation and
use citation metrics as one determinant of this.
Social implications –Unless we give value to lower-ranked regional botany journals in other ways than
citations, the current trends in citation rates could lead to the diminution, even loss, of their valuable
contribution biodiversity conservation.
Originality/value –Although concerns have been expressed about the long-term viability of natural history
journals, this is the first research to examine this quantitatively using citation metrics.
Keywords Botany journals, Citation metrics, Citation potential, Citation prediction, Impact factor, Journal
viability, Median citation rates
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Citations are now the metaphorical oxygen of scientific publishing and careers; an essential
element for sustaining scientific life. So can citation deficiency lead to the decline and eventual
extinction of some journals, as predicted by Bryant and Calver (2012) in the natural sciences?
More specifically, are the lower-ranked general botany journals endangered species?
Metrics based on citations of peer-reviewed publications are well entrenched as means of
purportedly judging the worth of particular journals, articles and authors. This approach to
judging such worthiness was effectively self-appointed, not something established by
researchers for the benefit of science and its stakeholders. Nevertheless, this approach has
achieved great traction and is driving appointments, promotions, funding and other aspects
of scientific careers, including where scientists chose to publish and how journal editors
consider submissions for publication.
The analysis presented here specifically considers the case of general botany journals,
many with long histories and commonly established by learned societies or public agencies.
JD
78,5
996
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0022-0418.htm
Received 14 September 2021
Revised 16 November 2021
Accepted 21 November 2021
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 78 No. 5, 2022
pp. 996-1007
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-09-2021-0181
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