Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences
Tohoku University

Prof. Hideaki Fujiwara (Specially Appointed Associate Professor) at the Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University, has published a paper presenting research findings that quantitatively analyze the scholarly impact of research articles published in major astronomy and astrophysics journals between 1996 and 2024, based on bibliographic database information.

 

In this study, annual trends in key metrics such as the number of publications and citations were analyzed using data obtained from the bibliographic databases Scopus/SciVal. The results show that, on average, citations to astronomy and astrophysics papers increase approximately 2-4 years after publication and then continue for about 10 years, suggesting a characteristic timescale of knowledge use in the field.

 

Scholarly impact is sometimes assessed using citation-based metrics. However, this study suggests that evaluating impact solely on the basis of short-term citation counts has limitations and requires careful interpretation.
 
This research was published in the academic journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan on January 28, 2026.

Publication Details:
Title: Bibliometric benchmarking across astronomy journals: Knowledge–use cycle and PASJ in the global landscape
Author: Hideaki Fujiwara
Journal: Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
DOI: 10.1093/pasj/psaf149 
URL: https://academic.oup.com/pasj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pasj/psaf149/8442979