Structure and Functions of Citation Index

Abstract

The article explains the concept of citation, citation index and the process of citation indexing in the present environment. Various components of the citation index such as citation index and its subparts (anonymous and patent cited index), source index, permuterm subject index, corporate index along with its sub-parts (geographic and organization index) and journal citation report are explained in brief. Further the structure, working, arrangement of these components of citation index are explained in detail with necessary and self explanatory sample entries which gives a clear idea about all these aspects. Citing and cited half-life are calculated and derived for a journal to understand the functioning and value of half-life of a journal. Functions of citation index are discussed to understand the various applications of research indicators and research trends in the subjects