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Archival Research

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Some researchers gain access to large amounts of data without interacting with a single research participant. Instead, they use existing records to answer various research questions. This type of research approach is known as archival research. Archival research relies on looking at past records or data sets to look for interesting patterns or relationships. For example, a researcher might access the academic records of all individuals who enrolled in college within the past ten years and...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 12, 2025

Application of DNA Fingerprinting using the D1S80 Locus in Lab Classes

Application of DNA Fingerprinting using the D1S80 Locus in Lab Classes

Published on: July 17, 2021

Does your surname undermine your research impact?

Yuejun Lawrance Cai¹, Kin Fai Ellick Wong², Jessica Y Y Kwong³

¹Department of Management and Strategy, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review

|August 5, 2025

Summary

Researchers with surnames earlier in the alphabet receive more citations, a bias amplified by alphabetical citation systems. This study confirms a causal link between surname order and academic impact.

Keywords:

Alphabetical order Citation frequency Primary effect Research evaluation

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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.