Bibliographic citations in the evaluation of the scientific activity: meaning, consequences and an alternative conceptual framework
Background and aims: In the evaluation of scientific activity, metrics are applied based on the number of bibliographic citations received by articles from a journal or from a scientist. The objectives of this work are to establish the meaning of a bibliographic citation, discuss the consequences o...
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| Formato: | Artículo revista |
| Lenguaje: | Español |
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Sociedad Argentina de Botánica
2020
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| Acceso en línea: | https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/BSAB/article/view/28723 |
| Aporte de: |
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I10-R325-article-28723 |
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Universidad Nacional de Córdoba |
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I-10 |
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R-325 |
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Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica |
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Español |
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Artículo revista |
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cita bibliográfica evaluación de la calidad científica marco conceptual métricas Bibliographic citation evaluation of science quality conceptual framework metrics |
| spellingShingle |
cita bibliográfica evaluación de la calidad científica marco conceptual métricas Bibliographic citation evaluation of science quality conceptual framework metrics Crisci, Jorge V. Katinas, Liliana Bibliographic citations in the evaluation of the scientific activity: meaning, consequences and an alternative conceptual framework |
| topic_facet |
cita bibliográfica evaluación de la calidad científica marco conceptual métricas Bibliographic citation evaluation of science quality conceptual framework metrics |
| author |
Crisci, Jorge V. Katinas, Liliana |
| author_facet |
Crisci, Jorge V. Katinas, Liliana |
| author_sort |
Crisci, Jorge V. |
| title |
Bibliographic citations in the evaluation of the scientific activity: meaning, consequences and an alternative conceptual framework |
| title_short |
Bibliographic citations in the evaluation of the scientific activity: meaning, consequences and an alternative conceptual framework |
| title_full |
Bibliographic citations in the evaluation of the scientific activity: meaning, consequences and an alternative conceptual framework |
| title_fullStr |
Bibliographic citations in the evaluation of the scientific activity: meaning, consequences and an alternative conceptual framework |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Bibliographic citations in the evaluation of the scientific activity: meaning, consequences and an alternative conceptual framework |
| title_sort |
bibliographic citations in the evaluation of the scientific activity: meaning, consequences and an alternative conceptual framework |
| description |
Background and aims: In the evaluation of scientific activity, metrics are applied based on the number of bibliographic citations received by articles from a journal or from a scientist. The objectives of this work are to establish the meaning of a bibliographic citation, discuss the consequences of the use of metrics based on bibliographic citations as a synonym of scientific quality including its effect in the field of Botany, and propose an alternative conceptual framework for evaluating the scientific activity.
Results: A series of factors prevent the statistical support of these metrics: size of the potential audience, the variation in publication and citation practices between the different disciplines, the long-tail statistical distribution of citations, the journal and language of publication, and that an observed statistical regularity will tend to collapse once pressure is put on it when used for control purposes. The consequences of using citations to evaluate are: inhibition of creativity, reification of the scientific achievement, assess the product based on the number of its consumers, the journals with the highest number of citations become a power factor, devaluation of topics with local or regional value, science becomes an industrialized activity, metrics replace judgment, and generating bibliographic citations is part of the objectives of a scientific article.
Conclusions: The origin and validity of these metrics are the consequence of a market society, that is, a way of life organized on the basis of market reasoning and morality and where human and social relations are mere consumer relations. |
| publisher |
Sociedad Argentina de Botánica |
| publishDate |
2020 |
| url |
https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/BSAB/article/view/28723 |
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2024-09-03T22:49:56Z |
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I10-R325-article-287232020-11-10T22:43:20Z Bibliographic citations in the evaluation of the scientific activity: meaning, consequences and an alternative conceptual framework Las citas bibliográficas en la evaluación de la actividad científica: significado, consecuencias y un marco conceptual alternativo Crisci, Jorge V. Katinas, Liliana cita bibliográfica evaluación de la calidad científica marco conceptual métricas Bibliographic citation evaluation of science quality conceptual framework metrics Background and aims: In the evaluation of scientific activity, metrics are applied based on the number of bibliographic citations received by articles from a journal or from a scientist. The objectives of this work are to establish the meaning of a bibliographic citation, discuss the consequences of the use of metrics based on bibliographic citations as a synonym of scientific quality including its effect in the field of Botany, and propose an alternative conceptual framework for evaluating the scientific activity. Results: A series of factors prevent the statistical support of these metrics: size of the potential audience, the variation in publication and citation practices between the different disciplines, the long-tail statistical distribution of citations, the journal and language of publication, and that an observed statistical regularity will tend to collapse once pressure is put on it when used for control purposes. The consequences of using citations to evaluate are: inhibition of creativity, reification of the scientific achievement, assess the product based on the number of its consumers, the journals with the highest number of citations become a power factor, devaluation of topics with local or regional value, science becomes an industrialized activity, metrics replace judgment, and generating bibliographic citations is part of the objectives of a scientific article. Conclusions: The origin and validity of these metrics are the consequence of a market society, that is, a way of life organized on the basis of market reasoning and morality and where human and social relations are mere consumer relations. Introducción y objetivos: En la evaluación de la actividad científica se aplican métricas basadas en el número de citas bibliográficas que reciben los artículos de una revista o los de un científico. Los objetivos de este trabajo son establecer el significado de una cita bibliográfica, discutir las consecuencias del uso de las métricas basadas en las citas bibliográficas como sinónimo de calidad científica incluyendo su efecto en el campo de la Botánica, y proponer un marco conceptual alternativo de evaluación de la actividad científica. Resultados: Ciertos factores impiden sustentar estadísticamente a esas métricas: tamaño de la potencial audiencia, variación de las prácticas de publicación y de citación entre las distintas disciplinas, la distribución estadística “long tail” de las citas, revista e idioma de la publicación y que una regularidad estadística observada tenderá a colapsar una vez que se ponga presión sobre ella al utilizarla con propósitos de control. Las consecuencias del uso de las citas para evaluar son: inhibición de la creatividad, cosificación del logro científico, valorar al producto en función del número de consumidores, las revistas con mayor número de citas se transforman en un factor de poder, desvalorización de los temas con valor local o regional, la ciencia se industrializa, las métricas reemplazan al juicio, y generar citas bibliográficas forma parte de los objetivos de un artículo científico. Conclusiones: El origen y la vigencia de estas métricas son la consecuencia de una sociedad de mercado es decir, una forma de vida organizada sobre la base del razonamiento y la moral del mercado y donde las relaciones humanas y sociales son meras relaciones de consumo. Sociedad Argentina de Botánica 2020-09-24 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Artículo invitado application/pdf text/html https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/BSAB/article/view/28723 10.31055/1851.2372.v55.n3.28723 Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica (Journal of the Argentine Botanical Society; Vol. 55 No. 3 (2020): Setember; 327-337 Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica; Vol. 55 Núm. 3 (2020): Septiembre; 327-337 Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica; v. 55 n. 3 (2020): Septiembre; 327-337 1851-2372 0373-580X 10.31055/1851.2372.v55.n3 spa https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/BSAB/article/view/28723/31079 https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/BSAB/article/view/28723/31080 Derechos de autor 2020 Jorge Crisci, Liliana Katinas https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 |