10.5061/DRYAD.9M808
Šigut, Martin
University of Ostrava
Šigutová, Hana
University of Ostrava
Pyszko, Petr
University of Ostrava
Dolný, Aleš
University of Ostrava
Drozdová, Michaela
University of Ostrava
Drozd, Pavel
University of Ostrava
Data from: Avoiding erroneous citations in ecological research: read
before you apply
Dryad
dataset
2017
Shannon–Wiener diversity index
basic vs. applied research
citation errors
2017-04-20T14:11:01Z
2017-04-20T14:11:01Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.04400
473630 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
The Shannon–Wiener index is a popular nonparametric metric widely used in
ecological research as a measure of species diversity. We used the Web of
Science database to examine cases where papers published from 1990 to 2015
mislabelled this index. We provide detailed insights into causes
potentially affecting use of the wrong name ‘Weaver’ instead of the
correct ‘Wiener’. Basic science serves as a fundamental information source
for applied research, so we emphasize the effect of the type of research
(applied or basic) on the incidence of the error. Biological research,
especially applied studies, increasingly uses indices, even though some
researchers have strongly criticized their use. Applied research papers
had a higher frequency of the wrong index name than did basic research
papers. The mislabeling frequency decreased in both categories over the
25-year period, although the decrease lagged in applied research.
Moreover, the index use and mistake proportion differed by region and
authors’ countries of origin. Our study also provides insight into
citation culture, and results suggest that almost 50% of authors have not
actually read their cited sources. Applied research scientists in
particular should be more cautious during manuscript preparation,
carefully select sources from basic research, and read theoretical
background articles before they apply the theories to their research.
Moreover, theoretical ecologists should liaise with applied researchers
and present their research for the broader scientific community.
Researchers should point out known, often-repeated errors and phenomena
not only in specialized books and journals but also in widely used and
fundamental literature.
Dataset for analyses of patterns of mislabeling of the Shannon-Wiener
diversity indexData of 2098 papers mentioning Shannon-Wiener (S-Wi),
Shannon-Weaver (S-We) or both names concurrently (S-Wi + S-We) between
1990-2015, downloaded from Web of Science database. Metadata of every
paper originally included authors' names, title, journal and year of
publishing, database accession number, first author's address, and
affiliation to focal research area(s). We added information concerning
research type (applied vs basic), affiliation to country and region of
origin, if the first author is a native or non-native speaker (language),
and impact on a scientific community (H-index of particular country -
higher (> 200), lower (< 200)).Web of Science data.xlsx