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Related Experiment Videos

Information science. Going, going, gone: lost Internet references.

Robert P Dellavalle1, Eric J Hester, Lauren F Heilig

  • 1Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Denver, CO 80220, USA. robert.dellavalle@uchsc.edu

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|November 1, 2003
PubMed
Summary
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Many scientific articles use Internet references, but a significant percentage become inactive over time. This study highlights the need for better archiving to preserve digital information for researchers.

Area of Science:

  • Bibliometrics
  • Digital Archiving
  • Scientific Communication

Background:

  • Internet references are increasingly common in academic publications.
  • Accessibility of online resources is a growing concern for scientific literature.
  • Ensuring the longevity of digital information is crucial for research integrity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically examine the prevalence and accessibility of Internet references in major scientific journals.
  • To quantify the rate of inaccessibility for Internet-based citations.
  • To inform stakeholders about the challenges of digital reference attrition.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of over 1000 articles published between 2000-2003.
  • Inclusion of articles from the New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, and Science.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Systematic examination of Internet reference activity and inaccessibility rates.

    • Main Results:

    • Internet references constituted 2.6% of all citations analyzed.
    • Within 27 months of publication, 13% of Internet references were found to be inactive.
    • A substantial portion of digital references become inaccessible shortly after publication.

    Conclusions:

    • The high attrition rate of Internet references poses a significant risk to the cumulative nature of scientific knowledge.
    • Publishers, librarians, and researchers must develop robust strategies for archiving and preserving online resources.
    • Proactive measures are needed to prevent the loss of valuable scientific information due to digital decay.