Scientists develop reputations that often work to their advantage. A study suggests that the presence of a well-known scientist on a list of authors can drive citations of the paper, regardless of the merits of the research — especially soon after its publication (A. M. Petersen et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 111, 15316–15321; 2014). The report rapidly started an online discussion. “How scientists too can be famous for being famous,” tweeted Ed Rybicki, a virologist at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Naupaka Zimmerman, a microbial ecologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson, took to Twitter to ask: “Do we cite papers b/c of what they say, or b/c of who wrote them?” See go.nature.com/v8rn7d for more.
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The benefits of being a big name. Nature 515, 167 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/515167f
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/515167f