Most journals choose reviewers and editors the traditional way: by seniority, affiliation and title. ChainKnow Press was founded on a different observation — that some of the strongest current work is produced by researchers whose reputations have not yet caught up with their citations. This note explains the signal we use to find them, and the boundaries we draw around it.

What Is Citation Velocity?

Citation velocity measures how fast a researcher's work is being picked up right now, relative to how long they have been publishing:

citation velocity = citations received in the last 24–36 months ÷ academic age (years since first publication)

A velocity score on its own means little, so we always contextualize it: each score is compared against researchers in the same field and at the same career stage, and expressed as a percentile. A third-year doctoral candidate whose papers are cited at the 95th percentile of their cohort is exactly the profile we exist to find — regardless of whether they hold a professorship.

Where the Metric Is Used — and Where It Is Not

Citation velocity drives our scouting: it helps us identify candidates for the reviewer pool, for the editorial board, and for our Rising Scientist Spotlight series. It is a talent-discovery signal.

Just as important is where it is not used. Acceptance decisions are made exclusively on the merit of the submitted manuscript — its question, method, evidence and clarity. A high-velocity author does not receive easier treatment, and a low-velocity author does not receive harsher treatment. The metric opens doors; it never decides the science.

Safeguards

Any citation-based signal invites gaming, so three safeguards are built in:

• Verified identity. Every author and reviewer in our pool is linked to a mandatory ORCID iD.
• Self-citations excluded. Velocity is computed after removing self-citations from both sides of the ledger.
• Anomaly screening. Citation sources are reviewed for unusual concentration — coordinated citing rings are flagged and excluded.

What This Means for You

If you are a doctoral researcher — enrolled or in-service — whose recent papers are being cited faster than your CV suggests, we want to hear from you. There is no application form for being noticed; publishing your best work and maintaining a clean ORCID record is enough. If you believe your work has been overlooked, you may write to the editorial office with a short summary of your recent contributions.