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Information to Users INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter free, while others may be from any type o f computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back o f the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zed) Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 A NETWORK APPROACH TO THE ANALYSIS OF CITATION FLOWS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TWO RESEARCH AREAS IN THE NATURAL AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Stéphane Baldi, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1997 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Lowell L. Hargens, Adviser Professor Robert L. Kaufinan Adviser Professor Barbara F. Reskin Department of Sociology tJMI Number: 9731586 UMI Microform 9731586 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition Is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Copyright by Stéphane Baldi 1997 ABSTRACT This dissertation conceptualizes the citation process as a dyadic relationship that simultaneously depends on characteristics of both citing and cited articles. Using data on two research areas, one in astrophysics and one in economics, this research develops a network-analytic approach to analyze all of the citation links from later papers to earlier papers in an area. Specifically, regression analyses examine the extent to which paper, author, and journal characteristics of both potentially citing and potentially cited papers infiuence the probability that a citation between the papers exists. Substantively, this project extends our understanding of stratification in science by assessing the relative worth of competing arguments on the use and fimctions of citations. Furthermore, a network approach permits the inclusion of variables indicating various relationships between citing and cited authors and papers so that 1 can test the argument that social ties between scientists influence their citation decisions. Finally, by adopting a comparative firamework, this dissertation tests hypotheses about variation in the allocation of citations across disciplines differentially located along a hard-soft dimension. Results from both generalized least squares and logistic regressions identify strong effects of cited article quality and content but only weak or insignificant effects of functionally irrelevant characteristics of cited author such as institutional prestige or eminence. These findings tend to support a normative interpretation of the allocation of citations in which citations reflect payment of intellectual debt rather than a social constructivist interpretation in which citations are rhetorical tools of persuasion. Furthermore, the lack of effects of social ties between citing and cited authors provides little support for the argument that authors who know one another are more likely to cite one another's work. Finally, consistent with much of the literature on disciplinary differences, my results suggest that the reward system is more universalistic and less dependent upon ascriptive characteristics in astrophysics than in economics. However, results from these two areas provide only weak support for the argument that the natural sciences differ from the social sciences in their pattern of rapid incorporation of new knowledge and cumulative building upon recent work. Ill Pour Susanne, Giorgio et Marie-CIaude IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank several people who gave me invaluable advice during the conduct of this research. Foremost among them is my adviser, Lowell Hargens, who not only throughout the writing of this dissertation, but throughout my entire career at Ohio State, provided timely feedback, constructive criticism, and intellectual support. Robert Kaufinan also offered insightful comments and applied his infinite methodological wisdom to some of the more technical aspects of my analyses. Finally, Barbara Reskin was kind enough to make time for some pointed feedback at the early and late stages of this project. Special thanks go to Jaya Sastry for taking an interest in my topic and being always willing to discuss my results and their implications. Thanks also to Karlyn Geis, Lisa Morrison, Marieke van Willigen, O'Reilly's, and The Counterfeit Heist for extra­ curricular support. Last but not least, thanks to Susanne Schmeidl for her love and patience. This research was supported by National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant SBR-9633763. Part of the data collection was supported by National Science Foundation grant SBR-9223317. VITA January 31,1969................................... Bom - Paris, France 1992...................................................... B.A. Sociology, University of Massachusetts at Boston 1992 -1994........................................... Graduate Teaching and Research Associate, University of Connecticut 1993 ...................................................... M.A. Sociology, University of Connecticut 1994 - present....................................... Graduate Teaching and Research Associate, The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS 1. Baldi, S., and D. B. McBrier. 1997. "Do the Determinants of Promotion Differ for Blacks and Whites? Evidence from the U.S. Labor Market." Work and Occupations 24. 2. Baldi, S., and L. L. Hargens. 1997. "Reexamining Price's Conjectures on the Structure of Reference Networks: Results from the Special Relativity, Spatial Diffusion Modeling, and Role Analysis Literatures." Social Studies o f Science 27. 3. Baldi, S. 1997. "Departmental Quality Ratings and Visibility: The Advantages of Size and Age." The American Sociologist 28:88-100. 4. Baldi, S. 1995. "Prestige Determinants of First Academic Job for New Sociology Ph.D.s 1985-1992." The Sociological Quarterly 7>6'.111-1%9. 5. Baldi, S., and L. L. Hargens. 1995. "Reassessing the N-rays Reference Network: The Role of Self Citations and Negative Citations." Scientometrics 34:239-253. VI 6. Baldi, S., and L. L. Hargens. 1995. "Reference Network Structure in Turn of the Century Physics: The Case of N-rays." In M. E. D. Koenig, and A. Bookstein (Eds.), Proceedings o f the Fifth Biennial Conference o f the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics, pp. 43-52. Medford, NJ: Learned Information. 7. Baldi, S. 1994. "Changes in the Stratification Structure of Sociology, 1964-1992." The American Sociologist 25:28-44. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Sociology Vll TABLE OF CONTENTS Cage Abstract ................................................................................................................................. ii Dedication............................................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... v Vita.......................................................................................................................................vi List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... xi List of Figures....................................................................................................................xiii Chapters: 1. Introduction.................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The role of citations in contemporary science.................................................. 1 1.2 Citations as dyadic relationships.......................................................................3 1.3 Main perspectives on the use and functions of citations..................................5 1.4 Disciplinary differences in citation patterns..................................................... 8 1.5 Research questions............................................................................................9 1.5.1 The role of citing article characteristics......................................... 10 1.5.2 Relative importance of article, author, and journal characteristics................................................................................... 10 1.5.3 The role of social ties....................................................................
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