This post is in response to Rob’s question from Unit 4 which can be found here: https://create.twu.ca/robtegelberg/2018/01/28/learning-activity-4-5-the-most-important-factors/

Question: When reading an introduction, do the amount of citations affect your perspective on the validity of the author’s purpose? Often when I see many citations in the introduction I feel that it subconsciously influences me to agree that the author’s perspective must be valid if so many people have the same idea.

Hi Rob,

To an extent, more citations means more credibility. There is definitely some measure of agreement that happens when sources are cited more often. For me though, it depends on who is being cited. Obviously we don’t all have time to look through the qualifications of those being cited but if the article only cites sources from the 1990’s or does not include any female sources whatsoever then I start to become skeptical. Lots of sources may look good but a variety of sources is what helps me come to agreement with the author. Again, this takes more time and it’s much easier just to cite sources that back up your claim. Looking at the date of the in-text citation is a quick and helpful way to see what era the research is being drawn from.

Great question!