Extinction by citation deficiency: are botany journals at risk?

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dc.authoridRiley, Ian Timothy/0000-0002-3592-0785
dc.contributor.authorRiley, Ian Timothy
dc.date.accessioned2024-11-07T13:24:13Z
dc.date.available2024-11-07T13:24:13Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.departmentNiğde Ömer Halisdemir Üniversitesi
dc.description.abstractPurpose 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 institutions and 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.
dc.identifier.doi10.1108/JD-09-2021-0181
dc.identifier.endpage1007
dc.identifier.issn0022-0418
dc.identifier.issn1758-7379
dc.identifier.issue5
dc.identifier.scopus2-s2.0-85122206484
dc.identifier.scopusqualityQ1
dc.identifier.startpage996
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1108/JD-09-2021-0181
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/11480/13973
dc.identifier.volume78
dc.identifier.wosWOS:000739344600001
dc.identifier.wosqualityQ3
dc.indekslendigikaynakWeb of Science
dc.indekslendigikaynakScopus
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherEmerald Group Publishing Ltd
dc.relation.ispartofJournal of Documentation
dc.relation.publicationcategoryMakale - Uluslararası Hakemli Dergi - Kurum Öğretim Elemanı
dc.rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.snmzKA_20241106
dc.subjectBotany journals
dc.subjectCitation metrics
dc.subjectCitation potential
dc.subjectCitation prediction
dc.subjectImpact factor
dc.subjectJournal viability
dc.subjectMedian citation rates
dc.titleExtinction by citation deficiency: are botany journals at risk?
dc.typeArticle

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