Does your surname undermine your research impact?

Area of Science:

• Bibliometrics
• Scholarly Communication
• Research Impact Assessment

Background:

• Citation frequency is a key metric for academic impact.
• A surname order bias exists, where alphabetical surname order negatively affects citation counts.
• The mechanisms and causality of this bias are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the mechanisms and causality of surname order bias in academic citations.
• To examine the influence of different citation systems on this bias.
• To provide a reliable explanation for the surname order bias and its implications.

Main Methods:

• Study 1: Replicated and extended previous work using a large dataset (446,755 articles), controlling for surname initial frequency and publication year.
• Study 2: An experiment with 307 academics manipulating citation systems (alphabetical vs. numerical) and surname order.
• Both studies were preregistered to ensure methodological rigor.

Main Results:

• Consistent findings across both studies: earlier alphabetical surnames led to higher citation likelihood.
• The surname order bias was significantly more pronounced in alphabetical citation systems compared to numerical systems.
• A causal link between surname alphabetical order and citation frequency was established.

Conclusions:

• The research provides a testable and reliable explanation for the surname order bias.
• Surname alphabetical order demonstrably influences citation frequency, particularly within alphabetical citation systems.
• Findings have significant implications for understanding and potentially mitigating bias in academic practice and impact assessment.