Exploring the Function of Citation Using Ancient Chinese Literature.

Abstract The function of citation is a fundamental question in bibliometrics and scholarly communication. Although several studies have attempted to better understand the function of citations, a unified theory of citations is still lacking. While the normative theory claims that researchers acknowledge the intellectual influence of their peers through citations, constructive theory suggests that authors cite to persuade their readers as to their credibility/authenticity. This study explores this topic by analyzing citations found in ancient Chinese literature and finds that most ancient Chinese authors cite to convince their readers as to their credibility/authenticity. Different citation patterns of scholars from different dynasties have been considered in this study. The findings partly confirm that authors like to cite valid and important sources to convince their readers. The study also reveals that the percentage of these citations, with supporting functions, has been increasing in China’s history.

Ce contenu a été mis à jour le 6 janvier 2022 à 11 h 51 min.