Science Explorer

Citations record when one paper lists another in its reference list. Software, datasets and grants are often acknowledged less formally: in a Data Availability Statement, in the text, or in the funding information a publisher supplies. SciX captures these acknowledgments as mentions and credits, so the people who build software, curate data and fund research can see the work that relied on it.

Mentions and credits

A mention is a link from a SciX record to a piece of software, a dataset or a grant that it used or acknowledged. A credit is the same link seen from the other side.

If a paper mentions a software package, the software package is credited by that paper. SciX generates both directions together, so a record’s mentions and the credits shown on the records it mentions always agree.

Where to find them

On an abstract page, select Mentions in the left menu to see the software and datasets a record mentions. On a software, dataset or grant record, select Credits to see the records that credit it. For a NASA or NSF proposal, for example, Credits lists the publications that acknowledge that award.

You can also sort search results by Credit Count to bring the most credited software, datasets and grants to the top. See Sort Results.

What counts as a mention

For now SciX keeps the definition deliberately narrow, so that each mention can be trusted:

• The target has its own SciX record. SciX only links to software, datasets and grants that are indexed in SciX.
• The link uses a persistent identifier. A mention is made through a DOI or another well-defined identifier, not by matching a name in the text.
• The target is software, a dataset or a grant. Mentions of other kinds of resources are not yet tracked.

Where mentions come from

• Data Availability Statements. Many journals ask authors to list the data and software behind their results. SciX extracts the links from these sections of the full text for a growing list of journals from publishers including AAS, AGU, AMS, Elsevier, IOP and Springer.
• The Astrophysics Source Code Library (ASCL). The ASCL records which papers describe or use each software package it lists, and SciX imports those links.
• Funding metadata. Publishers (through Crossref) and data repositories (through DataCite) often record the funder and award number behind a publication. When an award number matches a NASA or NSF proposal indexed in SciX, the publication is linked to that grant.
• Repository and related works links. DataCite metadata and the related works links SciX receives from other sources, including users, add a smaller number of links between publications, software and datasets.

Work is under way to find mentions anywhere in the body of a paper, not just in its Data Availability Statement.

How mentions relate to citations and references

Mentions and credits work like citations and references: a mention is the counterpart of a reference, and a credit is the counterpart of a citation. They are kept separate because they capture different things.

• Citations and references come from the formal reference list of a paper.
• Mentions and credits come from less formal acknowledgments elsewhere in a paper or its metadata. A dataset named in a Data Availability Statement but missing from the reference list appears as a mention, not a reference.

Current limitations

Mentions and credits are a new feature, and coverage is growing rather than complete. Keep in mind:

• A missing mention does not mean there is no connection. The journal may not be covered yet, the link may sit outside the Data Availability Statement, or the software or dataset may not have a SciX record.
• Software and datasets are listed together. A record’s Mentions list can mix both. To tell them apart, check the document type of each item, or filter by document type (doctype:software or doctype:dataset).
• Mentions are not included in metrics. Citation counts, the h-index and other indicators are based on citations only.
• There are no search operators for mentions yet. Operators that work like citations() and references() for mentions and credits are planned.

If you know of a link between a publication and software, data or a grant that SciX is missing, or have ideas for what you would like to do with mentions, write to us at help@scixplorer.org.