Citation metrics utilise a sum of the citations an academic work has received to date from other works in the data source, and are often used for comparative evaluation.
Academic works receiving citations include articles and reviews, proceedings, book chapters, letters and more.
The number of citations accrued since publication is a simple measure of the engagement an output has received within the academic community. Citation counts are not a measure of quality as articles may be cited due to negative as well as positive engagement. Citation rates vary across disciplines so context is important when using citation-based measures.
Tools to use: Scopus, SciVal, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Outputs in top percentiles show the extent to which publications have attained notable distinction by ranking among the most-cited papers in a given field. This metric is calculated to show how many articles are in the top 1%, 5%, 10% or 25% of the most cited documents. 99th percentile is high and indicates an article ranks higher than 99% of articles, i.e. it is in the top 1% globally. Outputs in top percentiles offer a quick way to benchmark groups of researchers and they should always be field weighted.
Tool to use: SciVal, InCites Essential Science Indicators, Scopus