...we suggested that the global project of collecting all the phenotypically interesting variants of the human genome could use microattribution, a form of data citation by journals and databases whereby submitters and curators receive citation credit that is linked to the unique identifiers of each report of a gene variant, allele frequency, population origin or tabular phenotypic data. [...] Credit for contributors operates at two timescales to incentivize the process, with immediate microattribution provided by the database and periodic publication credit provided by participating journals and preprint servers. Following the curation process, their systematic analysis generates new knowledge and new hypotheses for the field as well as many corroborating reports of variants that support existing observations. The microattribution process has a further purpose. It reports the level of activity across the genome contributed by collectors of genotype and phenotype information so that resource decisions can be made on the needs for extra curation or timely community re-review of a locus, trait or pathway.

The current culture of measuring citation of entire articles alone tends to favor the articles describing techniques and resources or long-standing hypotheses with lasting predictive value. It may even contribute to the fixation of initially tentative hypotheses by repetition rather than by replication. The prospect of having citation metrics for semantic assertions is exciting because it might now be possible to recognize and reward efficient hypothesis construction, testing and rapid falsification. These complementary skills are particularly valuable to researchers when they navigate new conceptual territory.