Abstract:

Based on the Price Law for paper publication, this study examines the factors that influence
the cited frequency of papers by taking the 1141 literatures published in five highly cited core journals as
the samples which are Studies in Science of Science , Science Research Management , Science of Science
and Management of S.& T., Forum on Science and Technology in China and R&D Management . The result
shows: (1) the whole degree of the cited frequency of papers is not high, the cited frequency of papers strongly
depends on the time of publication, and in the meanwhile there is a non-linear relationship between them; (2)
there is significant positive correlation between whether the authors cooperate, whether there is quantitative
studies in these papers, the number of times that the papers are downloaded, journal impact factors and
the cited frequency of papers. However, there is obvious negative correlation between the annual quantity
of published articles of the journal, and there is no significant correlation between the institution where the
first author is from, his gender, the number of papers that are funded, journal organizer, etc. and the cited
frequency of papers. The main finding of this study is that paper features decide the cited frequency of papers,
and relative inspiration is drawn. It also proposes the shortcomings in this study and the future directions.