Citation patterns in translation studies: a format-dependent bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Citation distributions vary across the board among academic disciplines, which is the reason why field-oriented normalisation is necessary to compensate for this. In this vein, the aim of this study is three-fold. Firstly, to find out which document type is cited the most in translation studies (TS). Secondly, to determine the time distribution for citations and aging patterns in TS scientific literature. Thirdly, to define a discipline-weighted citation window or cited half-life, in order to establish the optimal citation window to be used in TS. Data enabling the present research will be retrieved from BITRA, which includes over 70,000 items covering the diversity of document types and languages used in TS research for all times and the citing information of over 10% of its entries. This database will thus allow us to carry out a study on citation and aging patterns in TS academic literature covering the 1960-2015 period. Both, global results, as well as a more detailed analysis focusing on different document types, will be provided. This bibliometric study aims to offer a discipline-focused approach in order to develop specific and realistic impact criteria for our discipline, while taking into account its actual research and communication practices.