Publication Integrity & Ethics (PIE) was developed over a decade ago to address several areas of concern and promote real editorial freedom.Read more.
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Citation Manipulation
Citation manipulation can be in a form of coercion, when editors, publishers or editorial board members put pressure on the authors binding them to add citations from the journal with the purpose of increasing citation rates and the journal impact. Authors are known to self-cite their previous work and excessive citation may fall under citation manipulation.
Citation manipulation or excessive self-citation is more prominent when articles contain references to other works and articles that do not contribute to the content; they main contain references included within the paragraphs for the sole purpose of increasing citations or misrepresent the importance of the specific work or article. Citation manipulation is therefore a form of unethical editorial behaviour and must be treated as such. According to the specialists, more than 36% of all the citations used in written texts are self-citations. Strategic self-citations which are those used for manipulation must be identified and eliminated, as they influence not only the quality and informative character of the article but the journal’s credibility as well.
