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Citation Frequency and Ethical Issue | Show Abstract Hide Abstract | Download | Electronic Physician, 6(2), 814-815. Accepted Paper Series Ale Ebrahim, Nader University of Malaya (UM) - Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture, Faculty of Engineering Posted: 2   Abstract: Dear Editor: I read your publication ethics issue on “bogus impact factors” with great interest (1). I would like to initiate a new trend in manipulating the citation counts. There are several ethical approaches to increase the number of citations for a published paper (2). However, it is apparent that some manipulation of the number of citations is occurring (3, 4). Self - citations, “those in which the authors cite their own works” account for a significant portion of all citations (5). With the advent of information technology, it is easy to identify unusual trends for citations in a paper or a journal. A web application to calculate the single publication h - index based on (6) is available online (7, 8). A tool developed by Francisco Couto (9) can measure authors’ citation impact by excluding the self - citations. Self - citation is ethical when it is a necessity. Nevertheless, there is a threshold for self - citations. Thomson Reuters’ resource, known as the Web of Science (WoS) and currently lists journal impact factors, considers self - citation to be acceptable up to a rate of 20%; anything over that is considered suspect (10). In some journals, even 5% is considered to be a high rate of self - citations. The ‘Journal Citation Report’ is a reliable source for checking the acceptable level of self - citation in any field of study. The Public Policy Group of the London School of Economics (LSE) published a handbook for “Maximizing the Impacts of Your Research” and described self - citation rates across different groups of disciplines, indicating that they vary up to 40% (11). Unfortunately, there is no significant penalty for the most frequent self - citers, and the effect of self - citation remains positive even for very high rates of self - citation (5). However, WoS has dropped some journals from its database because of untrue trends in the citations (4). The same policy also should be applied for the most frequent self - citers. The ethics of publications should be adhered to by those who wish to conduct research and publish their findings. Improve citation, Research impact, Publication ethics

Nader Ale Ebrahim, a doctoral candidate at the university of Malya argues that the internet can be used effectively to disseminate one's research, for e.g.:

Home » Stages of candidature » Communicating research » Publishing on internet Publishing on internet Research overview & references Jim Cumming, a recent ANU doctoral candidate, suggests that with the development of the internet has come a range of communication methods for researchers. These include: Blogs Research websites where papers are posted prior to formal publication Online journals Wikis Skype An interesting development at the doctoral level in recent years has been a steady growth in the practice of blogging, whereby the experiences of candidates are not only documented but also publicly accessible. To see a range of blogs compiled by PhD candidates, supervisors and anything PhD related, visit PhDs.org. As part of my own doctoral research I have observed a 100 per cent increase in the number of blogs registered on the phdweblogs site during my candidature (2004-07). My notes reveal the number of blogs registered have been as follows: 285-15 May 2005; 453-17 September 2006; and 500-25 July 2007. An interesting feature of this site is that the number of doctoral blogs in Australia ranks third in the world with 34 PhD blogs, after the USA (194) and the UK (69). Another is the multidisciplinary nature of these blogs. On registering individuals are required to self-select their research area against a broad classification. Unsurprisingly, 'Social Sciences-General' is the top category with 128 posts, however, 'Multidisciplinary' is second with 100. This is inherently interesting given that most other disciplinary classification schemes fail to include inter-, trans-, or multi-disciplinary categories (e.g. RFCD, DEST, ANZIC, SEO, ISI). Intrigued by this online mode of communication and interaction I initiated my own blog-http://doctoralpractices.blogspot.com/ on 5 May 2005. The National Library approached me not long after it was up and running with a view to registering as part of their online database. I maintained the blog until the final stages of my candidature in 2007. During that time I recorded over 30 posts and generated over 3,000 hits. While it did not generate the level of interaction that I envisaged originally, it could be seen as constituting a public record of one candidate's activities. As such it provides an additional point of reference in the field of doctoral education, as well as a potential data source for those researching in the field of doctoral education in years to come. Read article in Weekend Australian Jim Cumming Former Doctoral Candidate, ANU August 2007 Ideas & tools Nader Ale Ebrahim, a doctoral candidate at the university of Malya argues that the internet can be used effectively to disseminate one's research, for e.g.: Google Wonder Wheel Harzing's Publish or Perish Microsoft Academic Search: VisualExplorer Mind Meister Mind Map Research ID

Nader Ale Ebrahim, a doctoral candidate at the university of Malya argues that the internet can be used effectively to disseminate one's research, for e.g.: Google Wonder Wheel Harzing's Publish or Perish Microsoft Academic Search: VisualExplorer Mind Meister Mind Map Research ID Useful questions to ask yourself: What communication media best suit your discipline? How are candidates supported in utilising these media? What particular skills are required for different forms of communication?