An empirical analysis of open access citation advantages in library and information science
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47989/ir31iConf64133Keywords:
Open access, Citation advantage, Library and information science, Bibliometrics, Scholarly communicationAbstract
Introduction. This study examines the citation impact of open access (OA) articles in library and information science (LIS). Given limited OA research in LIS compared to other fields, it contributes by examining OA citation advantages over time, journal quartile, OA type, and discipline.
Method. Using a dataset of 109,759 LIS journal articles (2001–2024) from WoS, the study classified articles by OA status and type, then applied statistical analyses, including t-tests, ANOVA and time-series analysis.
Analysis. Both parametric and nonparametric tests compared citation impacts across OA types, disciplinary scope, publication years, and journal quartiles. Effect sizes were calculated to assess practical relevance.
Results. Non-OA articles received slightly more citations (mean 18.83) than OA articles (mean 17.9), though the difference was minimal. Green OA showed the largest citation advantage (28.55 average). OA citation advantages declined from 9.75 citations (2001–2004) to 0.74 (2020–2024). Multi-disciplinary articles fared better than single-discipline articles.
Conclusion(s). The study reveals that OA citation advantages in LIS are conditional, varying by OA type, discipline, and period. These findings caution against generalizing the OA citation benefits observed in other fields.
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