Distinctive citation dynamics in vertebrate palaeontology: Benchmarking regional field-normalized evaluation metrics

Bibliometric scrutiny of academic literature is today prevalent and widespread, and in a world of ‘big data’, it is likely here to stay. Benchmarking measures, such as citation counts, H-indices, and journal rankings are increasingly used in research evaluation, yet meaningful application requires field-specific baselines. Currently, no standard bibliometric framework exists for palaeontology, let alone vertebrate palaeontology in Australasia, creating challenges for researchers seeking to contextualize their academic outputs against fair and realistic standards. This study addresses that gap by producing comparative benchmarks for researchers and research publications within the Australasian region (Australia, New Zealand, and surrounds), offering tools that contemporary researchers can use to frame their own career narratives in funding, promotion, and evaluation contexts. Drawing on a manually vetted dataset comprising more than 5500 publications, 176 contemporary researchers, and 50 years of citation history, key metrics were established, including publication volume, citation accumulation, H-index progression, first/sole authorship rates, and publication patterns relative to journal quality ranking. Results show that vertebrate palaeontology in Australasia exhibits distinct bibliometric behaviours compared to broader fields, such as ecology and geosciences, notably a shorter citation lifespan plateauing around 15 years post-publication. These differences highlight how conventional benchmarks drawn from broader fields may misrepresent research performance in vertebrate palaeontology. The field-specific benchmarks developed here provide a more accurate and equitable foundation for assessing scholarly excellence. They offer practical tools for individual researchers framing their track records, for institutions developing fairer evaluation frameworks, and for broader efforts to promote field-sensitive research assessment. Gilbert J. Price [[e-mail]], School of the Environment, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.