What is a citation diversity statement?

Author: Ellie Gendle

At Springer Nature, our commitment to excellence in science remains central to all we do. The quality of the science conducted is the most important factor in determining which content we publish.   

Scientific evidence (Yang et al., 2022; Hofstra et al., 2020) demonstrates that research drawing on a broad spectrum of perspectives and experiences is strongly associated with more novel insights, more innovative results and greater impact.  A citation diversity statement encourages authors to do just that – acting as a reminder to look anew at their underlying research and to expand their references rather than relying only on sources with which they are most familiar. We know that when citation practices concentrate on the same authors, institutions and regions, the result is in many instances, a skewed perspective that does not accurately reflect the breadth and state of a field of research.

For this reason, we allow authors to include along with their manuscript a citation diversity statement. This is purely optional and does not affect the evaluation of their research.

A citation diversity statement is a nudge that can help authors capture recent innovations, discoveries and breakthroughs, differing viewpoints and methods, and contributions from varying disciplines and regions. This encourages, though it does not require, authors to broaden the lens through which their research is undertaken. Literature that is more comprehensive and balanced can be of greater usefulness to readers and to science.

Citation diversity statements are not about quotas or identity. Rather, they are focused on helping to ensure a more rigorous scientific method and a more complete scientific record – a fuller picture. When new papers engage with the breadth of scientific understanding, including orthogonal views or contrary findings, everyone benefits. 

Science advances in part due to a researcher’s openness to new information and their engagement with as much relevant research as is available. When research encompasses a fuller scope of available literature, irrespective of what is familiar, scientists build a stronger foundation for future discoveries.

References:

• Hofstra, B., Kulkarni, V. V., Munoz-Najar Galvez, S., He, B., Jurafsky, D., & McFarland, D. A. (2020). The diversity–innovation paradox in science. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(17), 9284–9291. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.191537811
• Yang, Y., Tian, T. Y., Woodruff, T. K., Jones, B. F., & Uzzi, B. (2022). Gender-diverse teams produce more novel and higher-impact scientific ideas. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(36), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2200841119