Self citations and impact factors in otolaryngology journals

Abstract

Self citation of a journal may affect its impact factor. Self citations during 1997 and 1998 were investigated in six 'general' otolaryngology journals. The citations each journal gave to other journals, including itself, and the citations each journal received from the other journals, differed significantly among the six journals (chi2= 2794, d.f. = 25, P < 0.0001). Acta Otolaryngologica and Laryngoscope had the highest self-citing rates (11.9% and 10.02%). Clinical Otolaryngology had the lowest self-citing rate (4%). There was no significant correlation between self-citing rates and impact factors for the six otolaryngology journals (r = -0.3143, P = 0.56).