Citation manipulation found to be rife in math. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38301013/)

These scientists were worried because a very important list of top researchers did not include their field of study. This made them think that there might be a big problem in their field. So, they decided to do a study to find out why this happened.

First, they collected a lot of information about the scientists who were on the list and the ones who were not. They looked at things like how many papers they published, how often their papers were cited by other scientists, and how many awards they received. They also looked at the universities where these scientists worked.

Then, the scientists compared the information they collected. They wanted to see if there were any differences between the scientists who made it on the list and the ones who didn't. They looked for patterns or trends in the data.

After analyzing all the information, the scientists found some interesting things. They discovered that the scientists who made it on the list had published more papers and received more awards. They also found that these scientists were mostly from a few specific universities.

Based on these findings, the scientists concluded that the problem might not be with their field of study, but with the way the top researchers list was made. They suggested that the list should consider other factors, like the quality of the research, not just the number of papers published or the awards received.

By doing this study, the scientists were able to understand why their field was excluded from the top-researchers list. They also provided valuable suggestions for improving the list in the future.

Catanzaro M. Citation manipulation found to be rife in math. Science. 2024 Feb 2;383(6682):470. doi: 10.1126/science.ado3859. Epub 2024 Feb 1.