Using the literature: Reference networks, reference contexts, and the social structure of scholarship

Networks of citations among the papers on a research topic reflect the stru cture of scholarship on that topic. Reference-network data for research are as from several disciplines show substantial variation in the structure of scholarship, ranging from the frequent and disproportionate citation of rec ent work to the frequent and disproportionate citation of foundational docu ments. The variation is inconsistent with the pattern expected of a simple physical sciences-behavioral sciences-humanities dimension. Citation-contex t analyses of references in the networks of various fields suggest that var iation in network structure is due in part to differences in why authors ci te their colleagues' work: Disproportionate citation of foundational docume nts occurs when authors cite papers as examples of perspectives or general approaches rather than as support for specific points. Differences in use p atterns for citations can help us understand other differences among schola rly communities.