Category Archives: citations

finding debates and discussions in the literature

Posted on April 25, 2022 by pat thomson

Working with literatures? One of the things you’re advised to do by people like me is to identify debates and discussions. That’s because you are very likely to want to contribute to a discussion. And to do this you will … Continue reading →

Posted in citations, debates in the field, literature mapping, literature review, literature reviews, literature themes | Tagged citations, debates, discussion and debates, Literatures, Pat Thomson | 1 Comment

citation blues #1-#4

Posted on December 6, 2021 by pat thomson

Blues – African-American musical form dealing with sorrows, trials and tribulations Blue – Australian slang for making a mistake. As in “I made a blue” So its possible, (particularly if you are Australian), to have the blues about making a blue. A … Continue reading →

Posted in citations, reference | Tagged academic writing, citations, communication, Pat Thomson, referencing, scholarship | 2 Comments

making your writing authoritative – a citation revision strategy

Posted on April 19, 2021 by pat thomson

Readers expect academic writers to know what they are talking about. We meet that expectation by grounding our writing in good scholarship – and making it sound authoritative. Authoritative. You can see the words author and authority contained within authoritative … Continue reading →

Posted in authority in writing, citation, citations, laundry list, revision, revision strategy | Tagged citation practice, citations, Pat Thomson, revision strategy, writing with authority | 8 Comments

editing your writing – lessons from chefs?

Posted on March 8, 2021 by pat thomson

You can pick up helpful ideas from the most unlikely places. Like cooking shows. Yes I watch cooking shows, it’s one of my guilty pleasures. I’m sure I’m not the only one, given their popularity. Sometimes they offer more than … Continue reading →

Posted in citations, editing, revision, revision strategy | Tagged citations, editing, Pat Thomson, references, revision | 8 Comments

writing a journal article – how many references?

Posted on July 1, 2019 by pat thomson

I’ve been asked about how many references go in the literature section of a journal article. A supervisor had offered a view – one reference per sentence is best, perhaps two. But, the person asking me said, they had seen papers … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, citation, citations, journal article, literature review | Tagged citations, journal article, Pat Thomson, references | 7 Comments

the citation dump – and three more citation tactics to avoid – #thesisknowhow

Posted on September 18, 2017 by pat thomson

All doctoral researchers know they must locate their work in the literatures. They also know that they must refer to the relevant literatures when they make an argument. Unsubstantiated claims are not acceptable, unless of course they are what is … Continue reading →

Posted in argument, citation, citation dump, citations, literature review, literature reviews, Uncategorized | Tagged citation dump, citation practice, literature review, Pat Thomson | 6 Comments

bibliography v. reference list … just semantics?

Posted on June 8, 2017 by pat thomson

So here’s the thing. What’s the difference between a bibliography and a reference list? I was always taught there was an important difference between a bibliography and a reference list. The reference list is the stuff you actually cite in … Continue reading →