The physics of citation growth
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F70883521%3A28110%2F25%3A63593401" target="_blank" >RIV/70883521:28110/25:63593401 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.2478/jdis-2025-0004/html" target="_blank" >https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.2478/jdis-2025-0004/html</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/jdis-2025-0004" target="_blank" >10.2478/jdis-2025-0004</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
The physics of citation growth
Original language description
Purpose: This study investigates the physics of annual fractional citation growth and its impact on journal bibliographic metrics, focusing on the interplay between journal publication growth and citation dynamics. Design/methodology/approach: We analyze bibliometric data from three prominent fluids journals—Physics of Fluids, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and Physical Review Fluids—over the period 1999–2023. The analysis examines the relations among annual fractional journal publication growth, citation growth, and bibliographic metric suppressions. Findings: Our findings reveal that the suppression of impact factor growth is significantly influenced by annual fractional journal publication growth rather than citation growth. All three journals exhibit similar responses to publication growth with minimal scatter, following a consistent functional relation. We also identify narrow, nearly Gaussian distributions for annual fractional journal publication growth. Furthermore, we introduce a new growth-independent dimensionless bibliometric metric, journal urgency, the ratio of annual fractional citation growth to the 4-year running average immediacy index. This metric captures effectively the dependency of citation growth on urgency and reveals consistent distributions across the journals analyzed. Research limitations: The study is limited to three major fluids journals and to the availability of bibliometric data from 1999 to 2023. Future work could extend the analysis to other disciplines and journals. Practical implications: Understanding the relation between publication growth and bibliometric suppressions can inform editorial and strategic decisions in journal management. The proposed journal urgency metric offers a novel tool for assessing and comparing journal performance independent of growth rates. Originality/value: This study introduces a new bibliometric metric—journal urgency—that provides fresh insights into citation dynamics and bibliographic metric behavior. It highlights the critical role of publication growth in shaping journal impact factors and CiteScores, offering a unified framework applicable across multiple journals.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
50804 - Library science
Result continuities
Project
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Continuities
I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2025
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Journal of Data and Information Science
ISSN
2096-157X
e-ISSN
2543-683X
Volume of the periodical
10
Issue of the periodical within the volume
1
Country of publishing house
PL - POLAND
Number of pages
19
Pages from-to
132-150
UT code for WoS article
001378775500001
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-85213346793