| Paper | Citations | | --- | --- | | 1 | 10 | | 2 | 8 | | 3 | 6 | | 4 | 4 | | 5 | 2 |
. It signals that the researcher has successfully identified multiple niches within their field and produced findings that their peers find relevant enough to reference in their own work. The Context of Discipline and Career Stage h-index of 4
A common rule of thumb is that your h-index should ideally track with the number of years since you completed your PhD. | Paper | Citations | | --- |
Nobody talks about the emotional valley between your first publication and your fourth citation. You know exactly what I’m talking about: Nobody talks about the emotional valley between your
In some social sciences or humanities fields where citation cycles are slower, an h-index of 4 might be common for a starting Assistant Professor. Context Matters: Field and Time