The Unnoticed Issue of Coercive Citation Behavior for Authors

Publishing articles in scholarly peer-reviewed journals is considered as one of the best publishing ways that helps researchers to build their academic reputation. Citing the references used throughout a research work is a crucial element when publishing scientific research. However, many authors have experienced a coercive behavior of reviewers who are trying to force them to include additional references to the revised version of their manuscript. This unethical practice, which is called coercive citation, has not received considerable attention by journals and publishers to address the issue. This piece discusses the appropriate measures that should be taken to deal with this unethical behavior more effectively.