Mathematics ≠ Science: A study in citation rates over time

Abstract

While mathematics is often lumped in with the rest of science when it comes to the academy it is not always a comfortable fit. Mathematics research is fundamentally different in many ways from research in the rest of the sciences. This is true from the way it ages, work published in the 1700s is still as true today as it was then which is definitely not true in physics or biology, to its often unforeseen impacts, it is not rare for mathematics which has languished for decades or longer to suddenly become the drivers of a whole new area of research. In my short presentation I will present research into the rates of citation over time in mathematics, using data from Clarivate's Web of Science. I will also compare these rates over time with other scientific disciplines to illustrate how mathematics is different. These results will provide insight into why it is important to use different techniques with mathematics than those used while investigating science research, the time scales we should be using when measuring the impact of mathematical research,and the affect my findings have on how we should use our work to help drive collections and acquisition decisions.