Between texts and contexts: Advances in theories of citation? (a rejoinder)

Scientific literature is expected to contain a body of knowledge that can b e indexed and retrieved using references and citations. References are subt exts which refer to a supertext, that is, the body of scientific literature . The Science Citation Index has provided an electronic representation of s cience at the supertextual level by aggregating the subtextual citations. A s the supertext, however, becomes independently available in virtual realit y (as a "hypertext"), subtext and supertext become increasingly different c ontexts. The dynamics of hyperlinks are expected to feedback on the system of indexing, referencing, and retrieval at the level of research practices. References can be considered as part of the retention mechanism of this ev olving system of scientific communication, and citations are a codified for m of referencing.