A new service designed to allow readers and researchers to comment on the appropriateness, quality, and type of citations made in the literature made its debut at the HighWire Press Publishers Meeting yesterday.

1. CONFIDENTIAL
SocialCite
Because not all citations are
created equal.

2. CONFIDENTIAL
Quantity vs. Quality
 More citations across the literature
 2.6% inflation rate
 More references per paper
 From 8.4 in 1970 to 34.63 in 2005, and growing
 Less monitoring of the quality of citations
 Quality is multidimensional
 No network tool across citations
 Impact factor remains a blunt instrument in the
networked era

3. CONFIDENTIAL
Untapped Potential
 Citations point to evidence, bolster arguments
 Citation lists represent a firm intellectual footprint
left by the researchers
 Citations can influence reader behavior
 Rhetorical power can be significant
 Citations are now linkable in the network age
 ORCID, CrossRef, and other tools make it possible
to reconcile citations to authors, journals, and
papers

4. CONFIDENTIAL
Judging Citation Quality
 Does the citation exist?
 Does the context of the citation match the
conclusions of the cited work?
 Is the cited work itself of high quality?
 Is the citation itself an act of criticism of the cited
work?
 Does the cited work actually provide evidence
itself? Or is it just a middleman, and therefore
needs to be viewed differently?

5. CONFIDENTIAL

6. CONFIDENTIAL

7. CONFIDENTIAL
Two Clicks = Lots of Data
Citing Journal: Journal of Proximal Research
Lewiecki EM, Miller PD, McClung MR, et al. Two-year treatment with denosumab (AMG 162)
in a randomized phase 2 study of postmenopausal women with low BMD. J Distal Research
2007;22:1832-1841. [CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
SocialCite:
Appropriate Citation? Yes No
Strong Evidence? Yes No
Citing Journal
Authors
Appropriate Citation
Cited Journal
Authors
High-Quality Material

8. CONFIDENTIAL
Data May Indicate . . .
 J Proximal Res publishes research that cites highquality material
 The J Distal Res publishes high-quality material
 J Proximal Res cites this paper appropriately
 This J Distal Res paper is cited appropriately
 Author “JPR-1” cites high-quality material
 Author “JDR-1” publishes high-quality material
 Author “JPR-1” cites appropriately

9. CONFIDENTIAL
Citing Journal: Journal of Proximal Research
Lewiecki EM, Miller PD, McClung MR, et al. Two-year treatment with denosumab (AMG 162)
in a randomized phase 2 study of postmenopausal women with low BMD. J Distal Research
2007;22:1832-1841. [CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
SocialCite: Appropriate Citation? Yes No
Strong Evidence? Yes No
Add More
Critiques Cited Work
Cites Evidence
Cites Assertions
Cites Methods
Cites Authority

10. CONFIDENTIAL
Data May Indicate . . .
 The J Distal Res paper is a methods paper
 Possibly more useful, weight citation accordingly
 This citation in J Proximal Res is critical of the paper being
cited
 Not captured by current impact factor
 This J Distal Res paper is being cited by its author
 Self-citation may limit its value or legitimacy
 Author “JPR-1” self-cites
 J Proximal Res contains one critical citation
 J Distal Res paper is being criticized

11. CONFIDENTIAL
Inferring Journal Practices
 Does the journal cite higher-quality information
than average?
 Are the citations more appropriate than average?
 Does the journal contain more critical citations
than average?
 Does the journal contain more citations to review
articles than average?
 Does the journal contain more citations to
methods than average?

12. CONFIDENTIAL
Inferring Author Practices
 Does the author typically cite high-quality
information?
 Does the author cite appropriately?
 Does the author produce more critical citations
than average?
 Are the author’s articles themselves viewed as
high-quality citable sources?
 Are the author’s articles themselves cited
appropriately more often than average?

13. CONFIDENTIAL

14. CONFIDENTIAL

15. CONFIDENTIAL
Simple Interface
(Currently missing “Add More” due to programmer work)

16. CONFIDENTIAL
Easy Injection of Technology
Based on DOIs and Javascript

17. CONFIDENTIAL
Potential Value for Many Stakeholders

18. CONFIDENTIAL
Incentivizing Usage of SocialCite
 Testing with researchers and editors showed that
citations are part of the normal intellectual
workflow, and that citations are being evaluated
continually and within context
 Providing a way to quickly express their judgment
of citations was very enticing to these intellectuals
 Providing a personal citation dashboard with
preliminary citation and journal quality data, in
real-time, would also incentivize usage

19. CONFIDENTIAL
Preventing “Gaming” of Data
 Individual dashboard for users reduces likelihood
of “gaming” the data
 Tying individual usage to individual benefit makes
password sharing less likely
 Also makes it easier to identify fraudulent accounts
 Occasional user identity challenges are built into
the system
 Designed to build trust without breaking flow
 First dashboard coming soon!

20. CONFIDENTIAL
Network Effect Is Critical
 Each journal, author, citation needs data points
from multiple appearances in multiple settings
 Aggregated and analyzed data should allow for
inferences and reporting
 Possibility for editorial pre-flight reviewing tools
as well
 Free install and free usage by individuals both
keys to driving data collection and long-term value

21. CONFIDENTIAL
Business Model
 Publishers – Participation is free, paid access to
reports and reporting tools
 Platforms – Free inclusion of the code and free access
to customization toolbox
 Individuals – Free access to a personal dashboard,
paid access to reports and deeper reporting tools
 Organizations and institutions – Paid access to
reports and reporting tools
 Editorial systems – Small fee per journal for
utilization of data via APIs

22. CONFIDENTIAL
Next Steps
 Create registration system and dashboard for
individuals
 Identify charter platform and publishers
 Begin gathering and analyzing data
 Publish any interesting findings
 Begin integration with manuscript processing
systems
 Generate metrics and reports

23. CONFIDENTIAL
Current Status
 Technology being evaluated at HighWire Press
 Potential publishing partners being approached
 Possible launch in 2014
 Interested in adding SocialCite?
 Contact SocialCite at socialcite@verizon.net
 Follow us @socialcite on Twitter
 Review the value proposition at social-cite.org

24. CONFIDENTIAL
SocialCite
Because not all citations are
created equal.