Integrated Social Sciences Program: Diversifying Your Citations

Guide for the online Integrated Social Sciences program

Citation Politics

Citation politics is about reproducing sameness. Academia has a long history with intellectual gatekeeping. Institutions of higher education in the United States still employ a predominantly white male faculty population resulting in white male dominated research production favoring Anglo- and Euro-centric systems of knowledge.

Women are cited less on average than research authored by men. If a women co-authors with a man, the paper has a higher chance of being cited.

People of Global Majority (people that have been racialized in white imperialist contexts as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) are less cited than their white colleagues even if they have more experience than white researchers.

Well-cited scholars gain authority because they are well-cited. However, well-cited does not equate to quality especially at the expense of those less-cited.

Language adapted from Dawn Stahura's LibGuide, "Evaluating Sources: Act Up."

Where to Find Diverse Citations

There are few databases and search platforms that focus on collecting or representing Black, Indigenous and People of Color authors, as well as women and transgender voices, but these resources are limited and can't be relied upon entirely. The best method for diversifying your readings and citations is to expand on your source types to include non-scholarly voices and writers, which will include a broader range of identities and experiences to add to your research. Consider citing your own or your family's experiences as part of your academic work, particularly if it is evidence that is not well supported elsewhere. Check out Our Voices (Willard, MacDonald-Scott and Lally) on some basics for citing yourself in research.

Gender Balance Assessment Tool
"Women are cited less often than men, and are also underrepresented in syllabi. Yet even well-meaning scholars may find that they have difficulty assessing how gender-balanced their bibliographies and syllabi really are. Counting is tedious and prone to human error, and scholars may not know the gender identities of all the authors they cite. This tool aims to help with that, by automating the process of evaluating the (probabilistic) gender of each name and then providing an estimate of what percentage of the authors on a syllabus are women."
Cite Black Women
A movement that engages with social media and aesthetic representation in order to push people to critically rethink the politics of knowledge production by engaging in a radical praxis of citation that acknowledges and honors Black women’s transnational intellectual production.
Cite Black Authors
A database that seeks to enhance recognition and citation of Black academic voices, made by and for Black researchers.
iPortal Indigenous Studies Research Tool
From the University of Saskatchewan, a search tool for Indigenous thinkers and contributors across many disciplines.
How to Cite Like a Badass Tech Feminist Scholar of Color (eZine)
SHINE Theory as a tactic aims to counter the erasure of Black, Indigenous and People of Color in research by reconsidering traditional ideas of expertise.

Black Studies Center This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Scholarly and general interest sources and historical newspapers and other primary sources on the Black experience from ancient past to present day.

Breaking the Citation Cycle

Practice citation counting: literally count how many women and people of the global majority are included in your references. Also: how many scholars working outside the United States do you cite? How many scholars working in languages other than English? You may not be able to change the counts, but awareness is key.

Cite research produced in other countries and in languages other than English, when you are writing about those regions.

There are different kinds of authority. Consider the context in which you are writing and determine: what kind of "expert" do you need? For example, when might a government site not be as reliable as a personal narrative?

Push against the narrow definition of academic scholarship that is exclusive, misogynistic and racist. Just because someone's work has not been heavily cited does not mean it does not have value. Strive towards citation politics that are feminist and anti-racist.

There are more contributors to research than just the author(s). Take a critical look at the methodology section to see who contributed and who didn't.

Who you cite matters! We have a responsibility to thoroughly evaluate our sources.

Language adapted from Dawn Stahura's LibGuide, "Evaluating Sources: Act Up." and Tulane Libraries Latinx/e/a/o/ Studies Guide.

Citation Diversity Statement

Citation bias is the tendency for students and researchers to cite articles and ideas published in preferred journals due to familiarity or ease.The purpose of your Citation Diversity Statement is to help mitigate this by producing your own reflection, including your own potential biases and looking at who is included or may be missing from the discussion. Here are some prompts for your to consider in writing your Citation Diversity Statement:

Who are the authors included in your bibliography? Do you know their backgrounds and identities?
Search online to see how authors self-identify-- don't assume based on name or picture
Track your own citation trends-- do you see any recurrences in where you look and what voices you're gathering?
Include evidence and voices outside of peer-reviewed literature-- how diverse are your source types?