Microwave effect: analyzing citations from classic theories and their reinventions—a case study from a classic paper in aquatic ecology—Brooks & Dodson, 1965

Citations play an essential role in creating a knowledge network and recognizing relevant contributions during the process of scientific production. Despite the citations establishing the links between new evidence and the preceding ideas, classic articles may not be cited adequately. Our aim is to identify if classic studies are cited over time and if the recent studies are producing new knowledge or just “giving a new look” to pre-existing ideas. We evaluated whether the theory proposed by Brooks and Dodson (Science 150(3692): 28–35, 1965)- Size-efficiency Hypothesis was referenced in studies on the subject since its publication. Through the analysis of 1480 scientific papers, we quantified—from 1965 to 2018—the citation index (CI) of the original article considering the number of articles produced on the topic per year and the number of citations to other authors (intermediaries). We observed that 60% of the papers and 59% of the intermediaries do not refer to the original article. The CI was low and negatively affected by the age of the original article, showing that the frequency of citation was lower than the rate by which articles on the topic were published. There is a tendency to cite more recent articles and articles that corroborate their own findings. Our data illustrated the microwave effect , in which pre-existing ideas and theories are “reheated” by more recent articles where little of the original idea is modified. The microwave effect can create the impression of scientific advancement when there is little being added to the knowledge already produced.