Although we are currently forced to play this game, everyone should read this article that was first brought to my attention by Ken Dodd. If you want a pdf copy, email me. It is excellent reading for those in administrative posts. The article slams the issue of citation ratings providing a solid arguement as to why they degrade the scientific process rather than promote it.
Lawrence, P.A. The mismeasurement of science. Current Biology 17(15):R584. On Thu, August 23, 2007 7:25 am, William Silvert wrote: > Alas, Susan is attacking one of the most prized strategies for achieving > fame in science -- publish papers with errors, which will draw critical > responses and generate tons of citations. > > Bill Silvert > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Susan Kephart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2007 8:01 AM > Subject: Re: Number of times cited in a CV? > > >> Dear Jonathan: >> >> Below is my quick response on "cited X time" in CV's. Others may >> view this practice differently of course, depending on the >> institution perhaps: >> >> I've been on search committees for many years, and have seen this >> practice increasingly in recent years in applications for tenure >> track positions in liberal arts institutions that emphasize both >> research and teaching. For our searches at least, I consider it an >> unnecessary use of the applicant's time and don't recall that topic >> ever coming up as a positive in a committee meeting. At the pre- >> interview stage, my colleagues and I tend to be much more interested >> in the caliber of the paper, the rigor of peer review for the journal >> it is published in, comments on that person's research from faculty >> mentors/recommenders whose own work is highly regarded, and most >> importantly , the ability of the author to write cogently about the >> significance of his or her research, as well as how that research >> might be continued and developed in the future. A few strong papers >> in excellent journals on a CV, and a pdf of an exemplar paper can go >> a long way towards shifting someone's application up a notch than how >> many times a paper is cited IMHO . . Folks on the search committee >> should be discriminating enough to recognize stellar contributions to >> the literature without being alerted to citation frequency, or look >> it up for themselves if they care. Many citations can either mean >> a top notch research effort that is well-respected or just a popular >> topic too (which has some value at times in relation to funding). >> Also, lots of minor papers or ones where the author is rarely first >> or second author are fine for folks who just completed a PhD and are >> hunting short term sabbatical or post-doc positions but not for >> tenure track positions in general. > Malcolm L. McCallum Assistant Professor of Biology Editor Herpetological Conservationa and Biology [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
