Citations in research articles of Information Systems: A cross-journal and cross sectional analysis

A key feature that distinguishes academic discourse from other types of discourse is its manifest intertextuality (Fairclough, 1992) realized in form of citation. The role citations play is particularly prominent in research texts in which references need to be made to source texts not only as a gesture of attributing ideas to other scholars but also as a device employed to advance a host of rhetorical goals. The centrality of citations in scholarly writing has been one major reason for the vigor in research on the discursive practice pursued in different fields. Scholarships have covered various grounds and as illuminated our understanding of not only the forms and functions of the discursive practice but also the rhetorical subtleties involved as well as the disciplinary variations on all these (see, e.g., Berkenkotter & Huckin, 1995; Charles, 2006; Harwood, 2009; Hunston, 1993; Hyland 2000; Myers, 1990; Petric, 2007; Swales, 1990; Thompson, 2005; Thompson & Tribble, 2001). A tremendous amount of theoretical insights has been generated some of which have already cascaded to pedagogical ends informing instruction in citation for novice writers from specific disciplines (e.g., Weissberg & Buker, 1990). The study presented in this paper is to continue the line of research. It examined the citations in 80 research articles (RAs) drawn from four journals in Information Systems, with two representing hard and two soft domains of the discipline (Becher & Trowler, 2001). Citations across different moves of the RAs were investigated. Findings suggest that there are notable variations across the different moves of the RAs and also across the hard and the soft journals. The variations are accounted for and pedagogical implications are also presented.