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10 - Documenting Your Scholarship: Citations and References

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2012

Robert J. Sternberg
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
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Summary

I would be surprised if this is the first chapter you examine in this book; in fact, I would be surprised if this chapter is in the first few you examine. Dealing with citations and references in a manuscript is not typically what one thinks of as a “glamorous” or exciting topic. It is, however, one of the most important topics regarding manuscript preparation because through citations and references you make or break your reputation as a careful and thorough scholar. Readers will evaluate how you used citations and references to provide background information for your topic, to develop a clear and convincing hypothesis, and to buttress your arguments. In addition, other readers will use your references to track down material they wish to explore. Thus, readers, including editors and reviewers, will use and evaluate your citations and references for a variety of purposes. For these reasons, careful scholarship is a must. Dunn (1999, p. 89) maintained that a reference section is as important in scholarly communication as is the remainder of one's paper. According to Sternberg (1988, p. 56), “Incorrect citations are a disservice to readers and show sloppy scholarship.” Finally, Bruner (1942, p. 68) noted

a sin one more degree heinous than an incomplete reference is an inaccurate reference; the former will be caught by the editor or printer, whereas the latter will stand in print as an annoyance to future investigators and a monument to the writer's carelessness.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2000

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