Scientific influence is not always visible: The phenomenon of under-cited influential publications

In this submission we introduce the notion of under-cited influential publications and show that these publications are like "wake-up switches" for significant follow-up research. To be considered an under-cited influential article we require an article to meet three requirements. One is on the level of received number of citations (first generation citations), while the two other ones take subsequent citation generations into account. In general terms these three conditions are: 1) The article is reasonably well-cited (a basic requirement to be influential) 2) Citations of citations (second generation citations) are rather highly cited, so that the original one is influential in an indirect way (a more refined token of influence); 3) Given condition two, the article received fewer citations than expected (being under cited). We claim that the phenomenon of under-cited influential publications is important and should receive more attention. Moreover, one may say that under-cited influential publications belong to the group of truly foundational scientific discoveries acting as promoters of influential research as shown by significant follow-up research. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.