THEORIES OF CITATION

Citations support the communication of specialist knowledge by allowin g authors and readers to make specific selections in several contexts at the same time. In the interactions between the social network of(fi rst-order) authors and the network of their reflexive (that is, second -order) communications, a sub-textual code of communication with a dis tributed character has emerged. The recursive operation of this dual-l ayered network induces the perception of a cognitive dimension in scie ntific communication. Citation analysis reflects on citation practices . Reference lists are aggregated in scientometric analysis using one ( or sometimes two) of the available contexts to reduce the complexity: geometrical representations ('mappings') of dynamic operations are ref lected in corresponding theories of citation. For example, a sociologi cal interpretation of citations can be distinguished from an informati on-theoretical one. The specific contexts represented in the modern ci tation can be deconstructed from the perspective of the cultural evolu tion of scientific communication.