Comment by thirdstation

Some interesting work regarding citations has been put forth by the Semantic Publishing and Referencing ontologies, specifically the CiTO ontology[1].

It allows an author to state the reason for the citation (supports, refutes, etc.).

Having to state a reason could reduce spurious citations while providing a more accurate view of the nature of a paper's impact.

[1] http://www.sparontologies.net/ontologies/cito