Library Help: Office For Open Research

What are citation percentiles?

Citation Percentiles are a metric that compares the citation performance of a publication relative to others in the same field, publication type, and time period. Percentiles divide the distribution of citation counts into 100 equal parts, with each percentile representing a specific position in the distribution. A citation percentile provides an indication of how well a publication is performing in terms of citations relative to other works in the same context.

For example, if a publication has a citation percentile of 90th percentile, this means it has received more citations than 90% of all similar publications in the same field, year, and publication type (This would commonly be referred to as appearing in the 'Top 10% of citations'). 

Our My Research Essentials online resource on Citation analysis provides you with a very useful introduction to percentiles and how they can be used responsibly to consider a publications impact:

• My Research Essentials: Using citation analysis to measure impact

Why are citation percentiles useful?

Citation percentiles offer a number of benefits when evaluating research impact:

1. Benchmarking citation impact: Citation percentiles allow researchers and institutions to benchmark the performance of a specific publication or set of publications against others in the same field. This gives a clearer picture of how well a particular work is performing relative to the body of literature in its discipline.

2. Contextualised comparison: Unlike raw citation counts, citation percentiles provide a relative context for understanding how a paper is performing. Since citation practices differ between fields and time periods, citation percentiles normalise the data, allowing for a fairer comparison across different disciplines and publication types.

3. Identifying high-impact research: By analysing citation percentiles, researchers and institutions can identify their most influential or impactful works. A publication in the top percentiles (e.g., 90th or 95th percentile) is often a sign of research that is having a significant impact within its field.

4. Evaluating research quality: Citation percentiles help to assess the quality of research outputs. While a high citation count is an important indicator of impact, citation percentiles give more meaningful insight into how a publication compares to other similar works, taking into account the field-specific citation patterns.

5. Supporting promotion and funding: Citation percentiles can be used as evidence in applications for research funding, promotions, or tenure. Publications in the higher percentiles can be highlighted to demonstrate a researcher's or institution's strong impact on their field.

How are citation percentiles calculated?

Citation percentiles are calculated by dividing the distribution of citations for a particular set of publications into 100 equal parts, where each percentile represents a specific percentage of the publications that fall below or above it.

For example:

• A publication in the 50th percentile has received more citations than half of the papers in the same field and time period, while the other half has received fewer citations.
• A publication in the 90th percentile means it has received more citations than 90% of other similar publications, indicating it is among the top 10% in terms of citation impact.
• The 100th percentile represents the top 1% of papers, those with the highest citation counts in the field.

Why citation percentiles vary

Citation percentiles can vary for several reasons, including:

• Field of Study: Different fields have different citation behaviours. For example, biomedical research may naturally accumulate more citations than work in other fields like the humanities or social sciences. Citation percentiles adjust for these differences, offering a more equitable comparison across disciplines.

• Publication Type: Certain types of publications, such as review articles or meta-analyses, tend to receive more citations than original research papers. Citation percentiles adjust for these variations by comparing similar types of publications within the same category.

• Publication Year: Citation practices also change over time. A paper published five years ago might not have received as many citations as a paper published more recently. Citation percentiles account for this by adjusting for the publication’s age and comparing it to similar works published in the same time frame.

How to use citation percentiles

1. Identifying High-Impact Research: You can use citation percentiles to identify which of your publications are having the most significant impact in their field. Publications in the top percentiles may indicate groundbreaking or highly influential research.

2. Tracking Citation Trends: Citation percentiles can also be used to track trends in citation patterns over time. By regularly checking citation percentiles, you can assess whether your work is gaining or losing influence, which can help to inform future research directions or areas of focus.

3. Institutional Evaluation: Institutions can use citation percentiles to assess the performance of their research output. A high concentration of publications in the higher percentiles indicates a strong research environment, which is often an important factor in institutional rankings and evaluations.

Platforms for Citation Percentiles

1. SciVal:
   • SciVal, a tool provided by Elsevier, offers a detailed view of citation performance, including citation percentiles. It allows users to compare the citation performance of individual papers, authors, institutions, or countries, using citation percentiles to benchmark research impact within a specific field.
2. Scopus:
   • Scopus also offers citation percentiles for individual papers. While it provides access to citation counts and other metrics, Scopus can calculate the citation percentile for any given publication by comparing it to similar papers in the same field and publication year.

How to Find Citation Percentiles in SciVal and Scopus

To find citation percentiles in SciVal, follow these steps:

 1. Access SciVal 

• In order to access SciVal you will need to register for an account with Elsevier. You must use your University of Manchester email address and credentials in order to do this.  Once you have registered the tool can be accessed from www.scival.com 

2. Search for Your Paper or Author:

• You will need to locate your author profile within SciVal. Use the Explore function, then select Researchers & Groups. You will need to use the Create/Import option to locate your profile if you do not already have this saved within SciVal.

3. View Citation Percentile Data:

• Once you’ve found tyour profile, use the Publication Metrics option to view details of any papers which appear in the Top 10% citation percentiles (or above). You can also use the View list of publications option to details for individual papers. These can be exported which will provide details of individual paper percentile numbers. 

To find citation percentiles in Scopus, follow these steps:

1. Log In to Scopus:

   • Access Scopus using the link provided within Library search

2. Search for the Paper:

   • Enter the title, DOI, or other identifiers to search for the paper you're interested in.

3. Locate Citation Data:

   • Scopus will display citation metrics for that publication, including its citation percentile relative to similar papers in the same field and time period.

Further Reading

For more details on citation percentiles and how to use them in SciVal, you can refer to Elsevier’s dedicated resources:

• Elsevier’s Citation Percentiles in SciVal

If you have further questions then please contact the Office for Open Research