This qualitative study of the citing motivations of twelve agricultural economists (faculty and doctoral students) identifies several factors they considered in making citing decisions: the contributions of the document to their research, the criteria they apply to the documents, and metalevel documentation concerns. The article reports citing behavior derived from a larger empirical, longitudinal study tracing document use during research projects and thus includes behavior related to decisions both to cite and not to cite. An important finding is the existence of metalevel concerns that influence a decision to cite a document, in addition to situational factors related to its actual use during research.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
White et al. (1997) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 3 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: