Sneaked references: Cooked reference metadata inflate citation counts

TL;DR

This paper uncovers a manipulation method where false references are added during DOI registration, inflating citation counts and compromising bibliometric data integrity, with significant implications for research evaluation.

Contribution

It reveals the existence of sneaked references in metadata registries, quantifies their prevalence, and highlights the need for correction mechanisms in bibliometric platforms.

Findings

At least 9% of references were sneaked in the studied journals.

Over 56% of references in the HTML versions were not indexed.

Sneaked references mainly benefited two authors.

Abstract

We report evidence of an undocumented method to manipulate citation counts involving 'sneaked' references. Sneaked references are registered as metadata for scientific articles in which they do not appear. This manipulation exploits trusted relationships between various actors: publishers, the Crossref metadata registration agency, digital libraries, and bibliometric platforms. By collecting metadata from various sources, we show that extra undue references are actually sneaked in at Digital Object Identifier (DOI) registration time, resulting in artificially inflated citation counts. As a case study, focusing on three journals from a given publisher, we identified at least 9% sneaked references (5,978/65,836) mainly benefiting two authors. Despite not existing in the articles, these sneaked references exist in metadata registries and inappropriately propagate to bibliometric dashboards. Furthermore, we discovered 'lost' references: the studied bibliometric platform failed to index at least 56% (36,939/65,836) of the references listed in the HTML version of the publications. The extent of the sneaked and lost references in the global literature remains unknown and requires further investigations. Bibliometric platforms producing citation counts should identify, quantify, and correct these flaws to provide accurate data to their patrons and prevent further citation gaming.