Author self-citations in the urology literature

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Bibliometrics
• Scientific Publishing

Background:

• Diachronous author self-citation rates are crucial metrics in scientific publishing.
• Understanding factors influencing self-citation is vital for evaluating research impact.
• Previous studies have explored self-citation in general medical literature, but specific rates in surgical subspecialties require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the diachronous author self-citation rate in high-impact urology journals.
• To identify article characteristics that influence the rate and percentage of author self-citations.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 327 articles published between January and April 2015 in European Urology, The Journal of Urology, and BJU International.
• Utilized the Scopus database to identify author self-citations.
• Employed negative binomial regression to assess the association between article characteristics and self-citation metrics.

Main Results:

• 80.2% of articles contained at least one self-citation, with a mean of 6.5 self-citations (14.2%).
• Experimental/animal study design and a higher number of authors significantly correlated with both the number and percentage of self-citations.
• Publication in European Urology and the total number of Scopus citations were associated with the number of self-citations.

Conclusions:

• The diachronous author self-citation rate in urology is higher than in general medical literature but comparable to other surgical fields.
• Study design (experimental/animal) and author count are significant predictors of self-citation rates.
• Future research should examine the context of self-citations for a more nuanced understanding.