Anchoring effects in the evaluation of scientific articles
Do citation decisions depend mainly on the quality of cited references?
Phase 1 (2022)
An initial survey was conducted in 2022 among corresponding authors whose email addresses are available in Web of Science. They were asked to rate the quality of articles they had cited in previous works. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of three study groups, which received additional information about the cited article: citation counts, information about the journal in which the article was published (impact factor), or a numerical access code. A control group did not receive any such information.
The results show that quality assessment depends on citation information, but not on information about the journal or the randomly generated access code.
Phase 2 (2023 - 2024)
Between December 2023 and March 2024, a second survey was conducted, which allowed for better control of the actual quality of the articles than was possible in the first survey.
It was found that randomly generated numbers have an effect on the evaluation of cited articles.
Phase 3
A third survey, which will examine the effect of peer reviews, is currently being planned.
- Team
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PD Dr. Lutz Bornmann
Dr. Christian Ganser
Dr. Alexander Tekles (first survey) - Publications
- Bornmann, L., C. Ganser, A. Tekles, 2021: Anchoring effects in the assessment of papers: The proposal for an empirical survey of citing authors. PLOS ONE 16(9): e0257307. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283893
Bornmann, L., C. Ganser, A. Tekles, 2023: Anchoring effects in the assessment of papers: An empirical survey of citing authors. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283893doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283893
Bornmann, L., C. Ganser, 2023: Are quality assessments in science affected by anchoring effects? The proposal of a follow-up study. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293663
Bornmann L., C. Ganser, 2025: Are quality assessments in science affected by anchoring effects? – Empirical results from a survey of authors assessing previously cited papers. PLoS ONE 20(4): e0320148. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0320148