At some point, in one of my old blog-posts, I asked how often authors check their citation data: every week? every month? every once in a while when the mood strikes? never? I was in the 'every once in a while' category.. until recently.
In a flash of self-realization, I determined that the reason I didn't obsessively check my citations was not because I am above doing such things, have better things to do, and/or know that it is unhealthy to fixate on citations. No, it turns out that I was not obsessively checking my citation numbers because doing so would be even less exciting than watching grass grow. From week to week, there might be a few citations clicking up a notch or two, but this wasn't thrilling enough to inspire me to check back frequently.
But now, there is one particular paper that is surging in citations! It is very exciting! And so I check my citation numbers much more often than I used to.
It would be even more exciting if the paper in question represented a major brilliant cosmic advance in Science, but, alas, it's a utilitarian piece of work. It's just something that is useful. Apparently (and lucky for me), it seems to be very useful, and I have been enjoying watching the citations go up every week.
This is sad, I know. First, there was the fleeting thrill when the citations of this paper upped my h-index, and now there is the lame entertainment of seeing that the number of citations has changed by a number >> 1 compared to the last time I checked.
Will the thrill fade with time? Or am I now addicted to checking my numbers every week (or so)? Is there any cure for this particular obsession? Should I seek help?
In a flash of self-realization, I determined that the reason I didn't obsessively check my citations was not because I am above doing such things, have better things to do, and/or know that it is unhealthy to fixate on citations. No, it turns out that I was not obsessively checking my citation numbers because doing so would be even less exciting than watching grass grow. From week to week, there might be a few citations clicking up a notch or two, but this wasn't thrilling enough to inspire me to check back frequently.
But now, there is one particular paper that is surging in citations! It is very exciting! And so I check my citation numbers much more often than I used to.
It would be even more exciting if the paper in question represented a major brilliant cosmic advance in Science, but, alas, it's a utilitarian piece of work. It's just something that is useful. Apparently (and lucky for me), it seems to be very useful, and I have been enjoying watching the citations go up every week.
This is sad, I know. First, there was the fleeting thrill when the citations of this paper upped my h-index, and now there is the lame entertainment of seeing that the number of citations has changed by a number >> 1 compared to the last time I checked.
Will the thrill fade with time? Or am I now addicted to checking my numbers every week (or so)? Is there any cure for this particular obsession? Should I seek help?