Past, Present, and Future of Citation Practices in HCI

Science is a complex system comprised of many scientists who individually make collective decisions that, due to the size and nature of the academic system, largely do not affect the system as a whole. However, certain decisions at the meso-level of research communities, such as the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community, may result in deep and long-lasting behavioral changes in scientists. In this article, we provide evidence on how a change in editorial policies introduced at the ACM CHI Conference in 2016 launched the CHI community on an expansive path, denoted by a year-by-year increase in the mean number of references included in CHI articles. If this near-linear trend continues undisrupted, an article in CHI 2030 will include on average almost 130 references. The trend towards more citations reflects a citation culture where quantity is prioritized over quality, contributing to both author and peer reviewer fatigue. This article underscores the profound impact that meso-level policy adjustments have on the evolution of scientific fields and disciplines, urging stakeholders to carefully consider the broader implications of such changes.