Investigation of the Correlation between Self-Citation and Impact Factor in Iranian Journals Indexed by the Institute for Scientific Information

An important aspect in the evaluation of scientific and research products is citation. Yet, a percentage of citations consist of self-citations, which, when employed excessively, although increases the impact factor (IF), leads to the demotion of journals. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between self-citation and impact factor in Iranian journals indexed in the journal citation reports (JCR) of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI).
This applied survey was conducted using document analysis method. Samples included 44 Iranian journals indexed in JCR of ISI by the end of 2014. The data were collected via filtrated output for Iran from the ISI database. Data analysis was performed using Pearson correlation coefficient in SPSS software.
The 44 studied journals had 6004 citations (mean = 136.45). Moreover, 43.18% of the journals showed a rate of 21%-69% self-citation, to the extent that after removing the rate, their impact factor decreased significantly. Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a direct significant relation between self-citations and IF (P The self-citation rate of the studied journals is rising in ISI. There is a direct correlation between their self-citation rate and IF. Although self-citation is to some extent acceptable, its sharp increase will result in the devaluation and deterioration of the journal. It is suggested that in order to increase real citation of journals, the use of improper methods to increase IF are avoided, and instead, studies are shared on international scientific networks.