^aDepartment of Government, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK. E-mail: lindad@essex.ac.uk

Abstract

This article raises important questions about the standing of citation indices as true reflections of the flow of influence in political science. Are citations being used strategically to enlarge personal standing in the profession? A recent experience suggests that sanctions against unacknowledged appropriation of others' research may be decreasingly severe or non-existent. This has serious implications for collective research and the 'free marketplace of ideas' within the discipline.