Citation
Beyond providing information about authorship expectations, publications should intentionally encourage citation of POC, women and nonbinary individuals, and international colleagues. A growing body of literature demonstrates persistent bias in favor of white men when it comes to citation; one recent study in neuroscience found the disparity is continuing to increase rather than decrease (Bertolero et al., 2020).
Potential authors should be reminded of this in the guidelines. For instance, International Studies Quarterly includes a statement: “We strongly recommend that authors check their references to ensure inclusion of authors from disadvantaged groups. ISQ is committed to ensuring that scholars receive appropriate intellectual acknowledgement regardless of race, gender, class, professional standing, or other categorical attributes.”
This consideration should also be incorporated into peer reviewer criteria to keep authors accountable for their citation choices and the range of perspectives that inform their research.
Principles into Action: #CiteBlackWomen
Launched by Christen A. Smith in 2017, this campaign “acknowledges and honors Black women’s transnational intellectual production.” A look at the hashtag on social media reveals hundreds of thousands of posts dedicated to amplifying Black women’s voices and accomplishments, but also to critiquing persistent inequities in citation practice across disciplines.
