A Study of Citation Motivations in HCI Research
Jordan Beck, Jomara Sandbulte, Bikalpa Neupane, John M. Carroll · 2018
What paper should be cited where, and why? Gaining insight into citation practices in HCI can enrich our understanding of the structure of research, as well as social and political factors that influence knowledge production. Recent research into HCI citation practices have identified problematic trends: inaccurate citing and a lack of critical citations. Directly investigating authors' motivations for citing can provide a fuller picture of citation practices. It can help us understand HCI research as a social system and develop a theory of citing. We report an interview study designed to identify authors' motivations to cite. We found three primary motivations: affirming personal relationships, building intellectual narratives, and serving strategic objectives. We discuss our findings from a social constructivist perspective of citation practices. In addition, we explore how these findings can strengthen efforts to write CHI papers. Finally, we outline steps to develop a theory of citing in HCI research.