Document Type : Original Article
Abstract
Aim: The present research has been performed to assess how many released final research reports are used by next final research reports.
Method: The citations of 374 final research reports, from a collection of 15324, that were released during 2003 to 2013 were examined.
Results: About 11031 citations have been totally used in the reviewed final reports, only a third of which (32%) were in Persian. Findings of the study show that only 181 (48%) final reports have cited previous research reports as an information resource. The findings from this study also suggest that the final reports released in 2011, 2013, and 2012 respectively , have made more extensive use of previous research reports. Those published in 2003 have made limited use of previous reports. In total, 405 (out of 11031) final reports have been cited by new final reports. Citation ratio of final reports to resources on the whole is 3.7 percent and ratio to Persian resources is about 11.4 percent. In addition, the findings indicate that 133 (33%) of citations to previous reports, represent self-citations.
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