Thread by @scientistswrite

Did you know that the References are the part of a paper most often overlooked? 😳 It's not only damaging science but also making desk-rejection more likely.

Here's a 9-point references checklist for you to bookmark!

A thread. 🧵

#PostDoc #newPI #PIchat

✅1: Did you read every study you are referencing?

Make sure that the studies you cite are actually substantiating your statements in the manuscript.

✅2: Are you always citing primary sources to support specific claims?

It's okay to cite reviews for more broader statements but when you are referring to a specific finding, always cite the paper that reported it first.

✅3: Is every study you cite needed to understand the context of your paper?

Make sure you aren't turning your research paper into a textbook or review paper and stay hyper-focused on what's needed exactly to understand your results.

✅4: Is your bibliography free of citation bias?

We may tend to (sometimes subconsciously!) preferentially cite friends or studies in our own geographical area. Do a double-check to find literature you may have overlooked.

✅5: Are you also citing the studies that disagree with your findings?

Giving the full picture is honest and doesn't discredit your findings -- quite the opposite: your readers will trust you more!

✅6: Are you citing your own work?

Self-citation is necessary when you have done research on the topic before -- within reason, of course. Use the active voice ("we found...") when referring to your previous work so your authority in the field doesn't get buried.

✅7: When referring to other studies, do you always describe the finding instead of only the authors' aim and approach?

Don't make the reader do the work for you. We want to know what the authors discovered (that is relevant to your own study), not what they set out to do!

✅8: Do you present the cited studies critically?

It’s so easy to create and spread scientific myths. So, don't distort hypotheses or not yet reproduced findings into facts. And if you don't agree with an author's conclusion, do comment on it.

✅9: Have you double-checked the accuracy of your references list?

Make sure your references don’t have errors and adhere to the journal guidelines. If permitted, it'll be helpful for the reader to include the cited paper's title, DOI and link.

TL;DR: A checklist for your References:

✔️Read every cited study
✔️Cite primary sources
✔️Cite essential papers only
✔️Avoid citation bias
✔️Give the whole picture
✔️Cite own work transparently
✔️Describe studies' findings
✔️Present studies critically
✔️Double-check accuracy

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