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arXiv · 2402.04607

Google Scholar is manipulatable

Hazem Ibrahim·Fengyuan Liu·Yasir Zaki·Talal Rahwan
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Abstract

Citations are widely considered in scientists' evaluation. As such, scientists may be incentivized to inflate their citation counts. While previous literature has examined self-citations and citation cartels, it remains unclear whether scientists can purchase citations. Here, we compile a dataset of ~1.6 million profiles on Google Scholar to examine instances of citation fraud on the platform. We survey faculty at highly-ranked universities, and confirm that Google Scholar is widely used when evaluating scientists. Intrigued by a citation-boosting service that we unravelled during our investigation, we contacted the service while undercover as a fictional author, and managed to purchase 50 citations. These findings provide conclusive evidence that citations can be bought in bulk, and highlight the need to look beyond citation counts.

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BibTeXRIS

Hazem Ibrahim, Fengyuan Liu, Yasir Zaki, Talal Rahwan. 2024-02-07. Google Scholar is manipulatable. https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.04607

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