Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
Three journals whose editors mutually request the addition of their journals' citations during peer review, producing a tight citation triangle visible in network maps.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A specialist subfield where a small number of authors naturally cite each other often because they are the only researchers working on the topic.
Editorial commentary
Citation cartels can operate at the level of individual authors (mutual citation pacts), journals (cross-journal citation stacking), or editorial boards (encouraging citation to a partner journal). They are detectable through bibliometric network analysis showing anomalous clustering. Clarivate periodically suppresses journals from Journal Citation Reports when cartel-like patterns are observed.
References
- Fister, Fister & Perc (2016) 'Toward the discovery of citation cartels in citation networks'
- Clarivate Journal Citation Reports suppression policy (current edition)
Also known as
citation ring · citation stacking · citation manipulation network
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
<role vocab="credit"
vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="Citation cartel"
vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/citation-cartel" />{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "DefinedTerm",
"name": "Citation cartel",
"identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/citation-cartel",
"description": "A group of authors, editors, or journals that systematically cite one another's work beyond what the science would warrant, in order to inflate citation-based metrics. A pattern is cartel-like when the citation flows between members are dramatically denser than flows to comparable non-members.",
"inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/research-integrity-and-misconduct/",
"url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/citation-cartel",
"sameAs": [
"citation ring",
"citation stacking",
"citation manipulation network"
],
"license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}
