Increasing the equitability of data citation in paleontology: Capacity building for the big data future

Jansen A. Smith; Nussaïbah B. Raja; Thomas Clements; Danijela Dimitrijević; Elizabeth M. Dowding; Emma M. Dunne; Bryan M. Gee; Pedro L. Godoy; Elizabeth M. Lombardi; Laura P.A. Mulvey; Paulina S. Nätscher; Carl J. Reddin; Bryan Shirley; Rachel C.M. Warnock; Ádám T. Kocsis

doi:10.1017/pab.2023.33

Increasing the equitability of data citation in paleontology: Capacity building for the big data future

Jansen A. Smith, Nussaïbah B. Raja, Thomas Clements, Danijela Dimitrijević, Elizabeth M. Dowding, Emma M. Dunne, Bryan M. Gee, Pedro L. Godoy, Elizabeth M. Lombardi, Laura P.A. Mulvey, Paulina S. Nätscher, Carl J. Reddin, Bryan Shirley, Rachel C.M. Warnock, Ádám T. Kocsis

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Data compilations expand the scope of research; however, data citation practice lags behind advances in data use. It remains uncommon for data users to credit data producers in professionally meaningful ways. In paleontology, databases like the Paleobiology Database (PBDB) enable assessment of patterns and processes spanning millions of years, up to global scale. The status quo for data citation creates an imbalance wherein publications drawing data from the PBDB receive significantly more citations (median: 4.3 ± 3.5 citations/year) than the publications producing the data (1.4 ± 1.3 citations/year). By accounting for data reuse where citations were neglected, the projected citation rate for data-provisioning publications approached parity (4.2 ± 2.2 citations/year) and the impact factor of paleontological journals (n = 55) increased by an average of 13.4% (maximum increase = 57.8%) in 2019. Without rebalancing the distribution of scientific credit, emerging "big data"research in paleontology - and science in general - is at risk of undercutting itself through a systematic devaluation of the work that is foundational to the discipline.

Original language	English (US)
Journal	Paleobiology
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/pab.2023.33
State	Accepted/In press - 2023
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Paleontological Society.

Keywords

Biodiversity
Open science
Paleobiology Database
Specimen-based
Taxonomy

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10.1017/pab.2023.33

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Smith, J. A., Raja, N. B., Clements, T., Dimitrijević, D., Dowding, E. M., Dunne, E. M., Gee, B. M., Godoy, P. L., Lombardi, E. M., Mulvey, L. P. A., Nätscher, P. S., Reddin, C. J., Shirley, B., Warnock, R. C. M., & Kocsis, Á. T. (Accepted/In press). Increasing the equitability of data citation in paleontology: Capacity building for the big data future. Paleobiology. https://doi.org/10.1017/pab.2023.33

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note = "Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Paleontological Society.",

year = "2023",

doi = "10.1017/pab.2023.33",

language = "English (US)",

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AU - Raja, Nussaïbah B.

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AU - Dimitrijević, Danijela

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AB - Data compilations expand the scope of research; however, data citation practice lags behind advances in data use. It remains uncommon for data users to credit data producers in professionally meaningful ways. In paleontology, databases like the Paleobiology Database (PBDB) enable assessment of patterns and processes spanning millions of years, up to global scale. The status quo for data citation creates an imbalance wherein publications drawing data from the PBDB receive significantly more citations (median: 4.3 ± 3.5 citations/year) than the publications producing the data (1.4 ± 1.3 citations/year). By accounting for data reuse where citations were neglected, the projected citation rate for data-provisioning publications approached parity (4.2 ± 2.2 citations/year) and the impact factor of paleontological journals (n = 55) increased by an average of 13.4% (maximum increase = 57.8%) in 2019. Without rebalancing the distribution of scientific credit, emerging "big data"research in paleontology - and science in general - is at risk of undercutting itself through a systematic devaluation of the work that is foundational to the discipline.

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KW - Taxonomy

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ER -

Increasing the equitability of data citation in paleontology: Capacity building for the big data future

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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