Christie Fuller, professor in the Department of Information Technology Management, recently had her paper “Cognitive biases and research miscitations” published in Applied Psychology: An International Review.
Focusing on how cognitive biases and personal preferences often affect the ability to create accurate citations, Fuller’s research tackles an error that nearly everyone will have committed at some point in their academic career. The most common explanation for an inaccurate citation is typically attributed to a lack of motivation or attention. Fuller’s research contradicts this after completing a vast review of over 1,400 papers, with over 44% of them displaying some form of miscitation.
Fuller’s research explores how cognitive biases provide an alternative reason for these errors, and shares recommendations to the authors, reviewers and editors for avoiding miscitations in the future.
Ultimately, this research does more than highlight a technical issue in academic writing, it speaks to a broader human tendency. Fuller’s research serves as a reminder that the mind, shaped by shortcuts in memory and perception, can sometimes lead one astray even when intending to do things correctly.