An interesting observation. However the two following paragraphs suggest an
explanation.
With regard to Czech ecologists, given that the Czech Replic is famous for
its beer and I believe that beer consumption is high, it may well be that
high citations are associated with a moderate level of alcohol consumption,
higher than the US average but lower than the Czech average. This would of
course imply a nonlinear correlation, which most ecologists ignore.
I think that Hochberg's first hypothesis makes sense. I am a great believer
in informal scientific communication and going to meetings to talk to
colleagues, which often leads to sitting in bars and writing on napkins. In
other words, I think that perhaps drinking is a proxy for socialising.
Bill Silvert
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Inouye" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: sexta-feira, 17 de Setembro de 2010 13:09
Subject: [ECOLOG-L] alcohol consumption and citation counts
But they stand in contrast to a
<http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2008.16551.x/abstract>2008
survey of Czech ecologists by Thomas Grim, also an ecologist. Grim, based
at Palacky University in the Czech Republic, found the opposite: that
increased levels of beer consumption were associated with lower numbers of
citations.
Michael Hochberg from the University of Montpellier in France speculated
on why - if this were so - highly cited researchers might be pushed to
drink more. They might attend more functions, be more "stressed out", or
they may just be "past their heyday and drowning their sorrows", he
suggested.
