I tell them 50 to 100 is a good number. But if there is no literature available then even less than 30 is acceptable too. There is no real actual number for this. Its a difficult question to answer. For me, until I write my whole point with complete arguement - I don’t stop. I sometimes decide it before writing but some times as I go along I feel the need of more references.
There is no real actual number for this.
The Key factors influencing the number of references we use in any article are ---->
1. The number of references required for a paper will depend largely on your work’s purpose.
2. The length of your reference list will also depend on your research paper’s subject matter.
3. Another factor will be your institution or journal’s requirements.
4. It may happen that you don’t have access to certain literature that could have served as a reference.
5. Given that more papers are being published than ever before in most fields, it is likely that reference lists will grow longer simply because there are more data points and discussions available to cite.
6. Finally, a paper’s length bears some correlation to the number of references.
Ref.
https://wordvice.com/how-many-references-to-include-in-a-research-paper/
There are only five of my paper, ha, or because of the fear of people saying that there is no citation, there is no way to quote, I could have not used one.
Duan I couldn’t understand the actual answer. I appreciate your time and answer. But could you please type once again.
Many of my students ask this question, how many references should we have in a review article? I tell them that it depends. What do you all think?
I agreed - it depends on research topic e.g. contents highly researchable or new topic lacking review literature. It also depends on research type or scope e.g. pure scientific or specific research scope might require less references vs social science that encompasses larger research area scopes etc. Don't let the no. of references define your article. Write your article with references as needed is more important in my personal opinion.
Hassaan:
Wow, of all of my published journal articles the one that got the most "play" (even became part of a textbook on sociology sandwiched between an excerpt from Max Weber and one from Karl Marx) only had 13 references. When I think of the things that have radically changed our world, most of them had no references (e.g. - various philosophies, scientific theories, foundational economic theories, etc.). I guess it depends on whether we are making minor contributions or major ones ... BTW, most journals are looking for minor contributions that support the dominant paradigms and reinforce rather than challenge the disciplinary status quo ...-(. :
I think it depends more on the quality of the papers than their quantity.
The most important thing is the scientific content more than total number of references.
I recommend to consider not less than 50 references.
Emad
It is a remarkable question. Although most of researchers try to find a special number for the mentioned question, I am the kind of researcher who think in similar way to Dr. Han Ping Fung, Dr. Zin Eddine Dadach, Dr. Jay Klagge and Dr. Emad Kamil Hussein . "It is on research type and scope...Don't let the no. of references define your article. Write your article with references as needed is more important in my personal opinion."
I utterly agree with the submissions of Drs. Han Ping Fung and Seyed Mehdi Mohammadizadeh on this discussion. Review paper should elicit more references when compared to original research. No specific number of references for review paper.
Number of references is good but these references must be relevant and highly retrievable by others.
There is no real actual number for this.
The Key factors influencing the number of references we use in any article are ---->
1. The number of references required for a paper will depend largely on your work’s purpose.
2. The length of your reference list will also depend on your research paper’s subject matter.
3. Another factor will be your institution or journal’s requirements.
4. It may happen that you don’t have access to certain literature that could have served as a reference.
5. Given that more papers are being published than ever before in most fields, it is likely that reference lists will grow longer simply because there are more data points and discussions available to cite.
6. Finally, a paper’s length bears some correlation to the number of references.
Ref.
https://wordvice.com/how-many-references-to-include-in-a-research-paper/
It depends on the number of good literature one can get in the specific area.
It depends on the number of good literature one can get in the specific area.
References should reflect the depth of penetration into the problem. It is not defined by the terms of quantity. Sometimes 5 works quite adequately convey the degree of knowledge of the issues, and sometimes 500 are not enough. In any case, I see how the student has reflected the literature existing before. And if it was an honest search - at least 1000. The analysis of literary sources is one of the important components of any scientific work, even a student one, even a professorial. It is important to see that these articles are read and incorporated into own work. And how many of them are listed - calculations for the official.
I think not only quantity the quality also should be considered.
It really depends on the subject, age of the subject ( from first appearance of the subject), and the level the writer goes deep in the subject. when I first tried to write a review paper on "power quality issues of microgrids", I had the idea of 100 references in my mind but I ended with 170 and after the first revision I finally ended with 205 references to cover almost all the area. This is usually what happens in writing a comprehensive review paper.
Yahya you nailed it with this answer. Thats what the key is- decide if you want to write a short review? Or a regular size review, or a comprehensive review. Then if needed increase the number of Reference according to your need.
Yes. Many factors are involved as highlighted in previous threads. The more abundant the references on the material, the more references are cited. However, if the field of study is gray and few studies have been done on it, then the references cited may be few.
Despite this yardstick, any good review paper must refer to a considerable number of sources (not less than 20 for mini review and not less than 30 in full review papers). More importantly, scholarly discussions via the review must provide new knowledge that would broaden the horizon of knowledge in the field.
Yes, the number of paper consulted depends upon the type of work that you are going to review and the journal that you are going to published. But, it is best if you refer more than 50 reference if available for writing the review paper.
Thank you Nancy for your response. Yes I totally agree. Theres is no real number.
Dickson you are absolutely right. Dr. Nirmala just nailed it with an outstanding explanation.
Dr. Nirmala this is a great response. Thank you . One of the best answers I have seen.
There is no specific number for the references . It depends on the journal's conditions for publication.
I do not think there is a specific limit for reference. However, we generally prefer the journal's requirements and criteria.
Not only quantity also quality and actuality should considered !
The references number is relative. For example: if the subject is already very discussed by literature there will be many references about it. When the subject is of hard discussion the think changes and text will haven't many references.
Exactly Dr. Matos- if there is a lot of information then just reduce the references if you want. Its your own choice - your own paper. Your own life- its democracy.
@Dr. Hassaan Tohid, fulfil the objectives of the paper and accordingly justfy the things given with references. Do not make limits in numbers for it, write a paper and give required references.
@Dr. Hassaan Tohid
I totally agree that it's difficult to recommend a particular number of references. It depends on what kind of project the students are working at. I think that 30 as you proposed would be appropriate for a bachelor thesis, for a master thesis I would expect more. We also tell the students to cite the literature they need to show what they want to show, and never use irrelevant literature just to increase the length of the list. We don’t have any official requirements regarding the number of references (neither a minimum or maximum).
If those references are highly relevant then there shouldn't be any limit.
Thank you all. Great answers. I am waiting for more comments to get a clear picture.
@Dr. Hassaan Tohid
In my opinion, there is no limit on this. Because is related to the subject and the aim of the work.
References should be included depending on the paper content requirements.
One way to gauge how many references you should have is to survey academic journals for your article type in your field. Review their author guidelines for limits on the number of references for your article type, and make sure your reference list complies with those journal restrictions.Read recent articles relevant to your topic; check how many references other authors have included in their papers for the same article type as yours, and how frequently those works were cited per page.
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