Referencing practices in physical geography : how well do we cite what we write?

Abstract

Accurate citation practices are important, from both an ethical and a scientific point of view. Using an easily reproducible, previously published method, we assess citation accuracy in 120 articles published in the first half of 2011 and listed under ‘Physical Geography’ in Thomson Reuters’ ISI Web of Knowledge Science Citation Index. Our results indicate that at least 19% of citations in physical geography do not provide clear support for the statements they are meant to support. These results are in line with previously published findings for ‘field-orientated’ sciences. We propose that both authors and editors help remedy this problem, by employing more rigorous writing and editing practices.