Journal Article: “Quotation Errors in General Science Journals”
The following article was recently published by Proceedings of the Royal Society A.
Title
Errors in General Science Journals
Authors
Neal Smith
AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL
Aaron Cumberledge
Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology
Daegu, South Korea
Source
Proceedings of the Royal Society A
October 2020
Volume 476 Issue 2242
DOI 10.1098/rspa.2020.0538
Abstract
Due to the incremental nature of scientific discovery, scientific writing requires extensive referencing to the writings of others. The accuracy of this referencing is vital, yet errors do occur. These errors are called ‘quotation errors’. This paper presents the first assessment of quotation errors in high-impact general science journals. A total of 250 random citations were examined. The propositions being cited were compared with the referenced materials to verify whether the propositions could be substantiated by those materials. The study found a total error rate of 25%. This result tracks well with error rates found in similar studies in other academic fields. Additionally, several suggestions are offered that may help to decrease these errors and make similar studies more feasible in the future.
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7 pages; PDF.
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About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.