Self-citation behavior within the health allied professions' scientific sector in Italy: a bibliometric analysis

National scientific qualification (NSQ) is a procedure to regulate access to Italian academic positions. An increased use of self-citations could favor the achievement of the minimum bibliometric requirements. The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze the self-citing behavior of successful candidates who applied for the NSQ in the Allied Health Professions (AHP) scientific field. Bibliometric indexes of all candidates qualified in the three first sessions (2012, 2013, and 2016) were retrieved from the Scopus database. We developed a new index (delta SCR) to detect changes in the candidate's habits based on the difference between the Self Citation Rate (SCR) in the year preceding NSQ and that of the previous 10 years. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to analyze the delta SCR between sessions. Multivariate regressions were run to investigate the relationship between delta SCR and six independent factors. Differences in delta SCR were found between 2012 and 2013 (p = 0.008), between 2013 and 2016 (p < 0.0001), but not between 2012 and 2016 (p = 1.000). Regressions showed highest R-2 in delta SCR >= 10 subsets (2012: R-2 = 0.373; 2013: R-2 = 0.645; 2016: R-2 = 0.511). The difference in citation habits (delta C) was a significant delta SCR predictor in 2012 and 2013, while publication habits (delta P) and the difference in the H-index with vs. without self-citations (delta H) were significant variables in 2012 and 2016, respectively. In the AHP sector, there was an increase in the use of self-citations in the 2013 session. Higher delta SCR was associated with delta C, delta H and delta P.