The role of self-citations in the impact factor of Library and Information Science journals
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54886/ibersid.v18i2.4968Keywords:
journal self-citation, journal self-citation rate, journal impact factor, citation analysis, Information Science and Library Science journals, academic journalsAbstract
The impact factor of journals depends on the number of citations received, including self-citations to the journal. The main objective of this study is to determine the self-citation rate in Library and Information Science journals and analyze their influence on the impact factor, analyzing whether there are differences between Library Science (LS), Information Science (IS) and Management Information Systems (MIS) journals. Journals from the Information Science and Library Science category in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) with impact factor were selected and classified into three specialties: LS, IS and MIS. Data related to self-citations and impact of journals were extracted from JCR 2022: total number of citations, self-citations, number of citable items, impact factor with and without self-citations and quartile. From these data, the self-citation rate was created for each journal. MIS journals have a higher impact factor and lower self-citation rate than IS and LS journals, the latter being the ones with a lower impact factor and higher self-citation rate. There is an inverse correlation between the self-citation rate and impact factors in the three specialties, although it is only significant in MIS journals.
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© 2007- . Authors retain their copyright, but transfer the exploitation rights (reproduction, distribution, public communication and transformation) to the journal in a non-exclusive way and guarantee the right to the first publication of their work to the journal, which will be simultaneously subjected to the license CC BY-NC-ND. Authors take whole personal responsibility on fulfilling all the appropiate ethical codes and laws, and obtaining all the necessary copyright permissions regarding their articles. Institutional and self- archiving is allowed and encouraged.
