A “research paper ” is fundamentally a primary source that reports the analysis and interpretation of an original study performed by the Researcher. Scientific research articles offer a way for scientists to convey their message to the scientific community. A research paper is well organized so that the information flow resembles an hourglass in that it goes from the basic to specific. Principally, it includes the introduction and literature part that provides basic knowledge on the topic, the methods and results present detailed information about the research project and the discussion, conclusions elaborate the findings and finally the list of references that makes it complete. Scientific writing can take a different form, be it a thesis, an article in a scientific magazine or a paper in an academic journal, referring and citing are a kind of obligatory part of educational practice.
A citation is a reference to the source of information used in the research. It enables someone who’s assessing the work to predict whether we’ve literally done the job or we are claiming to have done, as well as understanding the field overall. It could be depicted both a signpost and an acknowledgment. As a signpost, it indicates the site of our source. As an acknowledgment, it admits that we are obliged to that source. In general, we can cite a source in three different formats: within the text (in-text-citation), at the bottom of the page (footnotes), or at the end of the paper (endnotes). The format followed by different disciplines varies.
Citing articles can validate numerous advantages. By using citations, we acknowledge the one whose idea we are using in each sentence and each paragraph. Citing previously published information can sometimes shorten a paper; the methods carried out with a defined procedure have already been elaborated in the existing publication thus allowing the author to summarize it. It is one of the best ways to avoid plagiarism, that is one of the primary reason for the rejection of the Article. Scientifically, a citation is essential for three vital reasons. First of all, citing sources is crucial because the currency of academia is thoughts. As a result, academics want to gather that currency, store it as a database for further use. Apart from this they also want to be credited for their valuable contributions which are nevertheless justified. Thus, whenever a writer cites thoughts, he obligates them who instigated the ideas. Second, keeping a trail of these sources is quintessential because if we use someone else’s opinion without acknowledging them, somehow we disregard that person’s ownership of the theory. Apart from being unfair for the person, it might have awful consequences. Third, the academics must be able to track the genealogy of thoughts; the scholars while conducting the experiments should be convenient to follow the way how ideas initiate in order to think and use them appropriately.
Therefore, it is imperative that authors cite the accurate work; they should not cite sources that they have not read, should not preferably cite the work of their peer’s, or institution’s; avoid mentioning work solely from one country;when we cite sources correctly, we leave no question in our readers’ minds regarding our view. By citing specifically and meticulously, the remark “It is said” need never be used in our intellectual article.