© Photo by Gerd Altmann, pixabay license
The article impact is measured by the number of times an article has been cited by other publications.
As a researcher, it can be useful to
- Track the impact of your research
- Find articles on your research topic by following the articles that cite you
- Identify the most cited articles
- Find collaborations with other researchers by following researchers that cite you
Keep in mind:
- A high volume of citations does not guarantee the quality of an article, as questionable articles are sometimes the most cited
- Review articles are usually more cited than original research articles
- Citations take time to accumulate and citation patterns differ from one field to another.
- Good communication can help you improve the visibility of your research (by increasing your number of citations)
- Co-publishing can improve your number of citations and your visibility
- Citations counts are also used by new alternative metrics (altmetrics)