Theory of Citing

M. V. Simkin () and V. P. Roychowdhury ()
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M. V. Simkin: University of California
V. P. Roychowdhury: University of California

Chapter Chapter 16 in Handbook of Optimization in Complex Networks, 2012, pp 463-505 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract We present empirical data on misprints in citations to 12 high-profile papers. The great majority of misprints are identical to misprints in articles that earlier cited the same paper. The distribution of the numbers of misprint repetitions follows a power law. We develop a stochastic model of the citation process, which explains these findings and shows that about 70–90% of scientific citations are copied from the lists of references used in other papers. Citation copying can explain not only why some misprints become popular, but also why some papers become highly cited. We show that a model where a scientist picks few random papers, cites them, and copies a fraction of their references accounts quantitatively for empirically observed distribution of citations.

Keywords: Page Number; Fitness Distribution; Citation Distribution; Literature Growth; Citation Process (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:spochp:978-1-4614-0754-6_16

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DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-0754-6_16

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