ABSTRACT
Self-citations account for a substantial share of all academic citations. The cumulative nature of scientific research perhaps makes this kind of embedding a natural part of the communication process as writers’ earlier work informs their research. The use of self-citation is the principal means by which writers can emphasize the linear progress of their research to demonstrate consistent lines of inquiry and the development of their ideas. Self-citation is shown to be particularly heavy among authors who have a long history of engagement in an area and increases as scholars move through their careers and publish more research. Self-citation may therefore be closely related to the relentless increase in specialization in research, which K. P. Ruscio accounts for thus: there are epistemological reasons: the sheer volume of knowledge and its rapid expansion compel a scientist to carve out his own niche of expertise. Self-citations have risen in electrical engineering but risen and fallen again as a percentage of all citations.
