A multi-dimensional analysis of usage counts, Mendeley readership, and citations for journal and conference papers
Scientometrics, vol. 129, pp. 985–1013
Abstract
This study analyzed 16,799 journal papers and 98,773 conference papers published by IEEE Xplore in 2016 to investigate the relationships among usage counts, Mendeley readership, and citations through descriptive, regression, and mediation analyses. Differences in the relationship among these metrics between journal and conference papers are also studied. Results showed that there is no significant difference between journal and conference papers in the distribution patterns and accumulation rates of the three metrics. However, the correlation coefficients of the interrelationships between the three metrics were lower in conference papers compared to journal papers. Secondly, funding, international collaboration, and open access are positively associated with all three metrics, except for the case of funding on the usage metrics of conference papers. Furthermore, early Mendeley readership is a better predictor of citations than early usage counts and performs better for journal papers. Finally, we reveal that early Mendeley readership partially mediates between early usage counts and citation counts in the journal and conference papers. The main difference is that conference papers rely more on the direct effect of early usage counts on citations. This study contributes to expanding the existing knowledge on the relationships among usage counts, Mendeley readership, and citations in journal and conference papers, providing new insights into the relationship between the three metrics through mediation analysis.
Authors 4
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Dalian University of Technology
Affiliation as printed
WISE Lab, Institute of Science of Science and S&T Management, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
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Leiden University · Renmin University of China
Affiliation as printed
Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
School of Information Resource Management, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
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Xianwen Wang corresponding
Dalian University of Technology
Affiliation as printed
WISE Lab, Institute of Science of Science and S&T Management, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
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Leiden University · Stellenbosch University
Affiliation as printed
Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Scientometrics and Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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