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Reward or persuasion? The battle to define the meaning of a citation
Author(s) -
DAVIS Philip M.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
learned publishing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.06
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-4857
pISSN - 0953-1513
DOI - 10.1087/095315108x378712
Subject(s) - persuasion , citation , rhetorical question , meaning (existential) , interpretation (philosophy) , battle , quality (philosophy) , sociology , psychology , computer science , social science , epistemology , history , social psychology , literature , world wide web , art , philosophy , archaeology , programming language
The history and development of the Science Citation Index (SCI) is an example of the power of users in defining and influencing the development of a new technology. The SCI was developed as a tool for the historian of science for the purpose of tracing the history of ideas, but it was appropriated by users for purposes for which it was unintended – as a tool for evaluating the literature, individuals, institutions, and countries. The development of a citation tool gave rise to a debate over what is actually measured by citations. The citation‐as‐reward camp views citations as indicators of quality and impact, whereas the citation‐as‐persuasion camp views citations as no more than rhetorical devices. While neither view can fully explain how authors use citations, citation‐as‐reward prevails as the dominant interpretation.