However, while it is important to have references, it may also be possible to have too many. Determining the right number of references can be difficult, and will vary by the subject, the length of the assignment, and the instructions provided by the tutor. All references should be relevant to the assignment and add value, of there are references which do not add meaningful content, they are surplus to requirements. There are several considerations when determined if an assignment has too many references.
Generally, each theory or idea used in the assignmentusually requires a single citation. Additional citations may only be required where subsequent research confirmed, reinforced, expanded, or contradicted the theory. As a general rule, there should be between 1 and 3 sources for each of the points that are raised in the assignment,. Sources published many years ago may provide only a limited contribution to the assignment. In some cases, instructions will state that all sources should be within the fast 5 or 10 years, but where there are no instructions using multiple older references may not be advisable.
Limitations of the study are not acknowledged. The research question is not answered. Grammar and use of language are poor. Main take home message: the average citation per manuscript is clearly below 10! In most fields, the impact factor of 10 or greater is considered an excellent score while 3 is flagged as good and the average score is less than 1. The most cited work in history, for example, is a paper2 describing an assay to determine the amount of protein in a solution.
It has now gathered more than , citations — a recognition that always puzzled its lead author, the late US biochemist Oliver Lowry. Its citation analysis is automated. There are no humans pushing buttons, making decisions and filtering stuff. If the sum of the publication counts and the sum of the citation counts for a researcher equals 1. You should cite just about enough sources that are required for your paper. The number of references you will use depends on how much literature exists on the topic.
It also depends on the article type: a review article is likely to have a lot more references. Using too many references does not leave much room for your personal standpoint to shine through.
Try to use the most credible sources in your paper. Learn more about evaluating the information found in articles on our Evaluating Information guide.. Some things to consider: A good source has been peer reviewed and has references. A good source is either of a time period historical or up to date contemporary. A good source does not push an agenda and is unbiased. Toggle action bar FAQ Actions. Print Tweet Share on Facebook Was this helpful? Related Topics. Chat with a Librarian.
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