Citation Index

Definition

A metric measuring how many times other researchers have cited your work, supposedly indicating importance but often just indicating notoriety.

Example Usage

His h-index of 25 demonstrated significant influence in the field, or at least that people frequently referenced his work.

Origin

Developed by Eugene Garfield in the 1950s as a way to quantify academic impact

Fun Fact

Your citation index could be high because your work is groundbreaking or because you're wrong in an influential way

Source: Bibliometric and research impact terminology

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