Science is a complex system comprised of many scientists who individually make collective decisions that, due to the size and nature of the academic system, largely do not affect the system as a whole. However, certain decisions at the meso-level of research communities, such as the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community, may result in deep and long-lasting behavioral changes in scientists. In this article, we provide evidence on how a change in editorial policies introduced at the ACM CHI Conference in 2016 launched the CHI community on an expansive path, denoted by a year-by-year increase in the mean number of references included in CHI articles. If this near-linear trend continues undisrupted, an article in CHI 2030 will include on average almost 130 references. Our meta-research provides insights into how the nature and meaning of citation practices in HCI have changed, influenced by factors such as digital accessibility of resources and academic pressures. The observed trend towards more citations reflects a citation culture where quantity is prioritized over quality, contributing to both author and peer reviewer fatigue. This article underscores the value of meta-research for research communities and the profound impact that meso-level policy adjustments have on the evolution of scientific fields and disciplines, urging stakeholders to carefully consider the broader implications of such changes.

翻译：科学是一个由众多科学家组成的复杂系统，个体科学家所做的集体决策由于学术系统的规模与性质，通常不会对整个系统产生显著影响。然而，在研究社群的中观层面（例如人机交互社群）所做的某些决策，可能导致科学家行为发生深远而持久的改变。本文通过实证分析表明，2016年ACM CHI会议引入的编辑政策变革如何推动CHI社群走上了一条扩张性路径，具体表现为CHI论文的平均参考文献数量逐年增长。若这一近乎线性的趋势持续不受干扰，到2030年CHI论文平均将包含近130篇参考文献。我们的元研究揭示了人机交互领域引文实践的本质与意义如何发生变化，并受到数字资源可获取性及学术压力等因素的影响。这种引文数量增多的趋势反映了一种重数量轻质量的引文文化，加剧了作者与同行评审者的负担疲劳。本文强调了元研究对学术社群的价值，以及中观层面政策调整对科学领域演进产生的深远影响，呼吁相关方审慎考量此类变革所带来的广泛影响。