Web of Science designates them: “Hot Papers”; PubMed calls them “Trending Articles”. Increasingly, websites and databases are relying on automation to pinpoint influential works. What factors go into determining a work’s influence and impact, and how are those factors weighed differently in human decision-making versus a machine-driven algorithm? Join us for a lively discussion about automated designation of popularity and influence. 

This workshop is part of The Art of Research: Inside the Black Box series. “The Black Box” is a STEM metaphor for systems in which one sees inputs and outputs, but not the inner workings. In many ways, the modern research process is one such “Black Box.” In this special series of The Art of Research, we examine the hidden computational processes behind common research tools and techniques. We focus on, to the degree possible, the algorithms and AI principles underlying relevance ranking, automated evaluation, and even publishing practices.