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August 4, 2015

Proceedings of the Natural Institute of Science | Volume 2 | SCI-NEWS 11

Scientist baffled and upset that a recently published paper did not cite his research

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – As he was settling down to read a scientific paper that was extremely relevant to his ongoing research, agronomist Paul Celestino noticed that something was amiss. Scanning the Literature Cited section, he discovered what had made him feel so uneasy: the paper had somehow failed to cite any Celestino’s previous work on the subject.

“It’s unconscionable to me how any of the papers that I recently published in relatively obscure journals weren’t deemed worthy enough by these authors for citation,” said Celestino in a statement. “And I find it highly unlikely that these authors were not aware of my most recent paper, for I had tweeted out its publication and that tweet received not one but two retweets, as well as three favorites.”

The omission of Celestino’s paper from the Literature Cited section has Celestino worried not only for the future of his scientific career, but also for the future of science in general. “The whole point of science is to publish a paper covering the minimum amount of information necessary for publication and then see it get cited. I am disappointed in not only the progress of science, but also my h-index. Well, mostly I’m disappointed in my h-index.”

When asked what he thought of the experimental design, results, and conclusions from the paper that opted not to cite his work, Celestino only responded that he hadn’t read any of it, save for the Literature Cited section, and doesn’t plan to in the future. According to Celestino, if a paper doesn’t cite his work, he won’t read it, no matter how relevant or important it might be to his own research. Celestino admits that this approach may have caused him to miss some important advances in his field of study over the past years, but, as Celestino said, “at least I have my dignity.”