Referencing

So I’ve been a little bit delinquent in posting as of late, but hey, it’s nearly Christmas, so cut me some slack. After all, it’s the slow season for journals. True story. It’s the end of term and academics are mostly thinking about two things: 1) getting through all that marking/grading and 2) having some time off. I can’t say I blame them. It also means we have a pretty low batting average when it comes to finding reviewers. What it means is that we get to run a lot of statistics about 2013 submissions and see what we’ve been up to. 

But I digress. I’ve been trying to come up with a suitable holiday-themed post but failing miserably. I was going to do an addendum to my last post, but then thought I’d save that for later. Instead, I took a question from the audience, or at least a suggestion from the audience, on a suitably serious topic: referencing.

I can hear the collective groan now. Seriously? Referencing? AT CHRISTMAS?

Yes. Because it’s one of the things I get asked about the most by ECRS. I get strings of emails where the author is anxious, borderline neurotic, about the rules around referencing, so I thought I’d explain them a bit here. Most of what I’m going to say is probably old news, but hopefully it’ll help at least one other ECR out there. So, my Christmas present to you: allaying some of the fears around referencing. And probably creating others, but nevermind…

So, how important is referencing?

Very. Don’t bother submitting a paper that isn’t properly referenced. If we can’t verify what you’re saying by showing that it’s founded on findable (and real) research and sources, we probably aren’t going to consider it for very long. Not to mention that the reviewers will tear it to shreds. Reviewers really like references. They will be very quick to point out when you are missing some.

What do you mean by properly referenced?

In this case, I simply mean that where a reference is needed, one exists. I’m not specifically referring to any particular citation style (more on that below). Instead, the main, pressing concern needs to be that other researchers’ work is fully cited. Always err on the side of caution – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a reviewer or editor comment that there are “just too many citations and references.”

What about citation styles?

Use the one that is recommended by the individual journal to which you are submitting. I know it sounds like a lot of work to rejig your citations for each journal, but it does make a difference. It’s all part of targeting specific journals and improving your success rate. What if Journal A uses Harvard style but Journal B uses Chicago style and you submit a paper to Journal B in Harvard style? It’s just going to be rather obvious that the paper has been “shopped around”. It’s part of following the guidelines, which is the main way to avoid rejection based on anything other than your research content.

Is the referencing really the deciding feature?

To be honest, not usually. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a paper rejected because of the referencing being incorrect or even totally wrong. It might be one of several reasons, but it’s rarely the only reason a paper is rejected. It will probably be sent back for revisions, and the author will be asked to adapt the referencing to the journal’s style (especially if there is an in-house style).  

So, what are you saying?

Always write with a specific journal in mind (this will be a common theme of the blog)  and always try to stick to that journal’s rules on referencing. That being said, don’t tie yourself up in knots and get tunnel vision on the citation style. Make sure your content and research are sound, and you give credit to all research you reference.

But isn’t that what the copyeditor is for?

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard this. Copyeditors do not exist to do your footnotes, references, and bibliographies. That is not their job. It is not the job of reviewers or the editor either. When you become a big name in your field, then you can be more relaxed and go for the “if they want the paper, they’ll sort out my references” attitude, but this is a blog for early career researchers and is about maximising your chances. I would advise against this attitude until you are well established.

Last comment for now – self-referencing, how do I do it if it’s going for blind review?

Just substitute “Author” for your name in both the in-text citations and the bibliography. This is one of the reasons that you are normally told to submit a blind and a non-blind copy of your paper through online portals. It helps with the final product for us to be able to compare them side by side (finding any remaining blinded references in the final product IS part of the copy-editor’s job).

Basically, my advice for referencing is this: follow the guidelines, do it frequently, and be more concerned with the content and proper credit than the nitty gritty of your citations. Yes, the minutae is important, but you are far likelier to have a paper rejected for the big picture – referencing usually merits a revision, which trust me, you can handle.

 

Merry Christmas to you all!  

-theAdmin