u/Mago_del_Cambio

A few months ago, when this subreddit barely had any members, I made a post asking about the new generation of students in the bibliometric sciences. I wanted to revisit that debate in case there are any educators or librarians here who would like to share their experiences or any interesting questions raised by their students.

In my experience working with students, I've noticed that subjects related to this field tend to be among their least favorite, whereas I personally found them to be some of the most fascinating during my studies. Do you think it's difficult to convey knowledge related to this field or is it simply a subject that many students prefer to skip?

What kind of opinions or reactions have you encountered?

i've done a whole lot of lit revs . everytime i explore the literature on a niche topic, there have been no substantial recent developments.

some genius scientist back in 1950s or the 1790s with a free rein on human testing made some groundbreaking discoveries which set the whole scene up .

but the norms recommend citing only the research from the last 5 years .

another scenario:

i'm working on building a novel electronic device . i cite the recent last 5year developments related to the device . those developments in no way capture the core fundamentals of building that thing , how it works , what half of its components actually do , how to replicate that build . they merely cite another paper from the last 5 years as well .

this builds a chain . one that could lead to hundreds of iterations away from the actual info.

is this really how it should be? doesnt that make the dilution a bit too ...pronounced ? what are your thoughts on this?

Hello everyone,

I am currently refreshing my Zotero and exploring new research paths for the upcoming months. To get some fresh perspectives, I would love to ask the whole community: what is the most interesting or impactful paper you have read so far in 2026?

I do not mind whether it is related to research assessment, altmetrics, science mapping, retractions....; please drop the title or DOI below so I can take a look at it!

It would be great to see what specific topics everyone is currently focusing on and build a shared mid-year reading list in this thread.

Google Scholar basically decides who looks successful in academia, but its algorithm is a total black box. I've been experimenting with open-source and independent bibliometric tools like OpenAlex and Publimetra to see if they offer a fairer shake for researchers outside Western institutions, or those publishing in open-access formats that legacy indices sometimes undervalue.

Has anyone else moved away from GS for tracking their own metrics or exploring global research impact? How accurate have you found these alternative platforms to be for your specific field?