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<p>In the digital era of academic communication, journal cover papers that merge scientific achievements with visual communication have attracted significant attention. This study investigated whether papers selected for journal covers have more disruption and citations than non-cover papers. Focusing on papers in <i>Nature</i> and <i>Science</i> between 2010 and 2019, this research integrates the disruption index into cover paper evaluation for the first time. The study mainly employs ordinary least squares regression, quantile regression and a series of robustness tests to empirically estimate the impact of cover papers on disruption and citations. The results show that cover papers have significantly higher citations than non-cover papers, but demonstrate no significant direct association with disruption on average. However, quantile and heterogeneity analyses reveal that its relationship with both disruption and citation varies with papers’ inherent quality. Furthermore, we find that cover selection is significantly linked to hot paper status, but their interaction shows no significant additional effect on disruption across quantiles. These findings inform journal curation strategies and scientific evaluation systems by delineating the distinct associations of cover placement with a paper’s citation impact versus its disruptive level.</p>

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Do cover papers have higher disruption and citations? Evidence from Nature and Science

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年11月17日

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  • Xinru Yang,
  • Xueli Liu,
  • Zixuan Zhang,
  • Mengjuan Xi,
  • Yuyan Jiang

摘要

In the digital era of academic communication, journal cover papers that merge scientific achievements with visual communication have attracted significant attention. This study investigated whether papers selected for journal covers have more disruption and citations than non-cover papers. Focusing on papers in Nature and Science between 2010 and 2019, this research integrates the disruption index into cover paper evaluation for the first time. The study mainly employs ordinary least squares regression, quantile regression and a series of robustness tests to empirically estimate the impact of cover papers on disruption and citations. The results show that cover papers have significantly higher citations than non-cover papers, but demonstrate no significant direct association with disruption on average. However, quantile and heterogeneity analyses reveal that its relationship with both disruption and citation varies with papers’ inherent quality. Furthermore, we find that cover selection is significantly linked to hot paper status, but their interaction shows no significant additional effect on disruption across quantiles. These findings inform journal curation strategies and scientific evaluation systems by delineating the distinct associations of cover placement with a paper’s citation impact versus its disruptive level.