Citations to Research

Part of the process of justification for conducting research that scholars engage in is the citation to existing research as a prelude or rationale for additional research. Ultimately, the process of research begins with some statement about the lack of knowledge or understanding that exists within the current literature. If the existing research could answer the question that a researcher is posing, then no justification exists to undertake additional research. The underlying justification for research lies somehow in the lack of knowledge or evidence for a particular point or claim. The assumption is that a search of the existing literature and the failure to find adequate information motivates the collection and analysis of data to evaluate a hypothesis or answer a research question. This entry summarizes the types of literature that are typically examined by scholars prior to conducting research and the importance of doing so, followed by recommendations for what types of literature to cite in a current study and how much of it should be summarized.

The implication of the process of research involves using the existing literature to justify some assumptions or claims that one makes when undertaking the research. First, scholars use the literature to examine what claims, outcomes, or facts could be considered to exist about something. Stating what is known, and the limitations of what is known, begins the process of setting out [Page 135]the limits of knowledge that a scholar wishes to extend, change, test, or establish. A review of the literature requires a complete review of relevant literature on the topic to illustrate what area in the existing literature’s array of investigations should be supplemented.

A second set of literature that requires review is the relevant theoretical literature. The invocation of a particular theoretical perspective requires a demonstration of the relevance and understanding of the argument as applied to the particular circumstances of the investigation. Citation to this literature indicates a setting out of potential axioms or theorems that applied to the setting to generate specific hypotheses for testing. Theories are statements that organize the relationships among variables. Understanding what ordering exists among elements of the system permits the generation of hypotheses about relationships that should exist if the underlying systemic descriptions are accurate. Understanding and representing that literature serves as the basis for both methodological choices as well as the creation of hypotheses.

A third set of literature that requires citations is the methodological issues involved in the conduct of the research. If the research involves the use of established scales, a review of the relevant research can establish the validity and reliability of the scale employed. Quantitative, critical, qualitative, or rhetorical methods indicate a process that is often invoked, and the particulars of that process are typically identified and the investigation structured to reflect the process. In many cases, there exist a variety of options for a procedure and the reader of the manuscript needs to know which of the specific procedures the researcher employed to understand the research. Before readers can evaluate the methods used, the process requires description and justification from previous investigations. In many cases, the decision to prefer one approach may reflect the research of others, so that justification should be presented.

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