Citation time windows based on citation frequency profiles of basic recognized work

Abstract

In order for citation based indicators to be comparable across fields, they need to normalise for two main areas of difference among fields. The first is size differences which include factors such as number of publications and number of references per publication. The second is the time it takes for publications in a field to mature. The first area has been dealt with extensively on a publication level, while the second area has been addressed primarily on the level of fields or journals. Here we investigate the impact maturity time of different fields at the publication level and present a new way of determining an optimal, field specific citation time window. Our work also presents a way to identify 'Sleeping Beauties' and 'Genial Work'.