ON CITATION ETHICS: EDITORIAL SHENANIGANS TO BOOST IMPACT FACTOR

ABSTRACT. The main objective of this paper is to explore and describe the dissemination of scientific information, manipulation of bibliometrical parameters, journal citations as a valid measure of scientific research output, and the journal impact factor as a means of quantifying the interest created by journals. The analysis presented in this paper contributes to research on editors’ incentive to inflate impact factors through self-citation, the practice of coercive self-citation, the deleterious effects of impact factor manipulation, the dependence of the author on the editor’s decision for publication, and the limitations of citation measures. pp. 82–87

Keywords: impact factor, citation, manipulation, scientific quality