图书情报知识 ›› 2026, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (3): 56-68.doi: 10.13366/j.dik.2026.03.056

• 专题·重新认识Altmetrics • 上一篇    下一篇

科学文献早期读者积累能否预示未来被引次数——基于粗化精确匹配的多学科实证研究

方志超1,2, 郑尔特3, 张彦清1   

  1. 1. 中国人民大学信息资源管理学院,北京,100872;
    2. 莱顿大学科学与技术研究中心,莱顿(荷兰),2300 AX;
    3. 谢菲尔德大学信息与新闻传播学院,谢菲尔德(英国),S10 2AH
  • 出版日期:2026-05-10 发布日期:2026-07-26
  • 通讯作者: 方志超(ORCID: 0000-0002-3802-2227),博士,副教授,研究方向:科学学与科技管理,Email: fangz@ruc.edu.cn。
  • 作者简介:郑尔特(ORCID: 0000-0001-8759-3643),博士研究生,研究方向:科学学与科技管理,Email: ezheng1@sheffield.ac.uk;张彦清(ORCID: 0009-0008-7106-8690),硕士研究生,研究方向:科学学与科技管理,Email: zhangyanqing333@ruc.edu.cn。
  • 基金资助:
    本文系国家自然科学基金青年科学基金项目“基于社交媒体用户画像的科学论文传播模式与影响力性质研究”(72304274)的研究成果之一。

Can Early Readership Accumulation of Scientific Literature Predict Future Citation Counts? A Multidisciplinary Empirical Study Based on Coarsened Exact Matching

FANG Zhichao1,2, ZHENG Er-Te3, ZHANG Yanqing1   

  1. 1. School of Information Resource Management, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872;
    2. Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, Leiden(The Netherlands), 2300 AX;
    3. School of Information, Journalism and Communication, the University of Sheffield, Sheffield(UK), S10 2AH
  • Online:2026-05-10 Published:2026-07-26
  • Contact: Correspondence should be addressed to FANG Zhichao, Email: fangz@ruc.edu.cn, ORCID: 0000-0002-3802-2227
  • Supported by:
    This is an outcome of the Youth Project "Research on the Communication Patterns and Nature of Impact of Scientific Papers Based on Social Media User Profiles"(72304274)supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China.

摘要: [目的/意义]作为替代计量学的重要指标,Mendeley读者数量常与被引次数进行比较。在控制混杂因素的前提下,识别科学文献早期积累的Mendeley读者数量与未来被引次数之间的关系,有助于验证其预示科学文献学术影响力的潜力,为科学文献发表初期的影响力评价提供依据。[研究设计/方法]基于629,234篇科学文献数据,采用粗化精确匹配方法(CEM)控制关键混杂变量,并通过负二项回归估计科学文献发表后半年内的Mendeley读者积累与未来五年被引次数之间的关联。此外,在十个学科大类下构建分学科回归模型,分析学科差异。[结论/发现]早期Mendeley读者积累与科学文献被引之间呈现显著正向关联。相比发表后半年内未获得Mendeley读者数据的论文,有Mendeley读者数据的论文的五年期被引次数大约高34.7%。该关联存在于各学科领域,但表现出一定差异,其中工程与材料科学的提升幅度最大(约42.8%),社会科学相对较小(约22.4%)。[创新/价值]在替代计量学研究中引入CEM与负二项回归相结合的因果推断思路,为Mendeley指标和引文指标之间的关系提供了更为稳健的估计,并为替代计量学指标在补充与优化科研评价体系方面的潜在价值提供了实证支持。

关键词: 科学计量学, 替代计量学, Mendeley, 科研评价, 引文分析

Abstract: [Purpose/Significance] As an important altmetric indicator, Mendeley readership is often compared with citation counts. Examining the relationship between the early accumulation of Mendeley readership and subsequent citation counts of scientific publications, while controlling for confounding factors, can help validate their potential to predict the future scholarly impact of scientific literature and provide empirical support for evaluating the influence of scientific papers in their early stages of publication. [Design/Methodology] Based on a dataset of 629,234 scientific publications, this study employs Coarsened Exact Matching(CEM)to control key confounding variables, and uses negative binomial regression to estimate the association between Mendeley reader accumulation within six months after publication and citation counts in the subsequent five years. Furthermore, sub-disciplinary regression models are constructed for ten broad disciplinary categories to analyze disciplinary differences. [Findings/Conclusion] Early accumulation of Mendeley readership shows a significant positive association with citation counts of scientific papers. Compared with papers with zero Mendeley readership counts within six months after publication, those that did have Mendeley readership counts exhibited about 34.7% more citations over five years. This association is observed across all disciplinary fields, but with some variation in magnitude: Engineering & Materials Science shows the largest increase(about 42.8%), while Social Sciences yields a relatively smaller increase(about 22.4%). [Originality/Value] By introducing a causal inference-oriented approach that combines CEM and negative binomial regression into altmetric research, this study provides a more robust estimate of the relationship between Mendeley indicators and citation indicators, offering empirical support for the potential value of altmetric indicators in complementing and improving research evaluation systems.

Keywords: Scientometrics, Altmetrics, Mendeley, Research evaluation, Citation analysis