What do citations count? the rhetoric-first model

Because of the widespread use of citations in evaluation, we tend to think of them primarily as a form of colleague recognition. This interpretation neglects rhetorical factors that shape patterns of citations. After reviewing sociological theories of citation, this paper argues that we should think of citations first as rhetoric and second as reward. Some implications of this view for quantitative modeling of the citation process are drawn.

[1]  M. H. MacRoberts,et al.  Measurement in the Face of Universal Uncertainty: A Reply to Stigler , 1987 .

[2]  G. Gilbert.  Referencing as Persuasion , 1977 .

[3]  S. Cozzens.  Comparing the Sciences: Citation Context Analysis of Papers from Neuropharmacology and the Sociology of Science , 1985 .

[4]  J. R. Cole,et al.  Scientific output and recognition: a study in the operation of the reward system in science. , 1967, American sociological review.

[5]  Henry Small,et al.  Cited Documents as Concept Symbols , 1978 .

[6]  Greg Myers,et al.  Texts as Knowledge Claims: The Social Construction of Two Biology Articles , 1985 .

[7]  Norman M Kaplan,et al.  The norms of citation behavior: Prolegomena to the footnote , 1965 .

[8]  Stephen M. Stigler,et al.  Precise Measurement in the Face of Error: A Comment on MacRoberts and MacRoberts , 1987 .

[9]  Susan E. Cozzens,et al.  Social Control and Multiple Discovery in Science: The Opiate Receptor Case. , 1989 .

[10]  B. Martin,et al.  Some partial indicators of scientific progress in radio astronomy , 1983 .

[11]  E. J. Barboni,et al.  The Interdependence of Theory and Experiment in Revolutionary Science: The Case of Parity Violation , 1979 .

[12]  M. Callon,et al.  Mapping the Dynamics of Science and Technology , 1986 .

[13]  Alan L. Porter,et al.  Citations and scientific progress: Comparing bibliometric measures with scientist judgments , 1988, Scientometrics.

[14]  Susan E. Cozzens,et al.  Life History of a Knowledge Claim , 1988 .