Spivey CA, Wilks SE "Reference list accuracy in social work journals" RESEARCH ON SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE 14 (4): 281-286 JUL 2004

[Eugene Garfield]

E-mail Addresses: CA SPIVEY : caspivey at juno.com

Title: Reference list accuracy in social work journals

Author(s): Spivey CA, Wilks SE

Source: RESEARCH ON SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE 14 (4): 281-286 JUL 2004

Document Type: Article
Language: English
Cited References: 19      Times Cited: 0

Abstract: This exploratory study investigated the rate of citation errors in
the reference lists of five social work journals. High error rates have been
found in journals infields such as medicine and psychology but have not yet
been investigated in social work journals. A stratified, computer-generated
random sample was selected (N = 500, 100 per journal), and each reference
was verified against the original work for accuracy in six fields: article
title, author name(s), journal title, pagination, volume, and year In
examining the total sample of 500 references across the five journals, 206
references (41.2%) contained at least one error. Suggestions for reduction
of error rates are discussed, as are suggestions for future study in this area.

EXCERPT :
'SUMMARY AND RESULTS:

To iterate, the percentage of references in the sample with at least one
error was about 41%.  This number is relatively high when compared to
reference lists from journals in other professions, as mentioned earlier in
the literature review.  Descriptive statistics from the sample indicated
that CSWJ contained the highest percentage of references with at least one
error (57%); in contrast, SSR contained the lowest (29%).

Based on analysis of variance, Hypothesis 1 in the current study was
empirically supported.  In the study's sample, ther was a significant
difference in the error rates among the five social work journals.  Post hoc
analyses indicated that CSWJ contained the highest number of errors in its
reference lists. A Pearson chi-square test showed no empirical support for
Hypothesis 2.  No relationship existed between the age of the reference and
existence of error in that reference.  Another chi-square test showed
hypothesis 2 to be inaccurate, as well.  Error rates of references from
multiple-authored articles were not significantly different from error rates
of references from single-authored articles."

Addresses: Spivey CA (reprint author), 130 Chateau Terrace Apt 25, Athens,
GA 30606 USA
Univ Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 USA

Publisher: SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2455 TELLER RD, THOUSAND OAKS, CA 91320 USA
Subject Category: SOCIAL WORK
IDS Number: 826OV
ISSN: 1049-7315

Cited References: 1997, AUTHORS GUIDE SOCIAL.
*AM PSYCH ASS, 2001, PUBL MAN AM PSYCH AS.
ASAI T, 1995, CANADIAN J ANAESTHES, V42, P1063.
ASANO M, 1995, CAN J ANAESTH, V42, P370.
BENNING SP, 1993, B MED LIBR ASSOC, V81, P56.
BEVAN DR, 1995, CANADIAN J ANAESTHES, V42, P367.
EICHORN P, 1987, AM J PUBLIC HEALTH, V77, P1011.
EVANS JT, 1990, JAMA-J AM MED ASSOC, V263, P1353.
FAUNCE GJ, 2001, AM PSYCHOL, V56, P829.
FENTON JE, 2000, CLIN OTOLARYNGOL, V25, P40.
FOREMAN MD, 1987, RES NURS HEALTH, V10, P177.
GOLDBERG R, 1993, ANN EMERG MED, V22, P1450.
KEY JD, 1977, ARCH PHYSICAL MED RE, V58, P136.
KRISTOF C, 1994, THESIS KENT STATE U.
PEDEN BF, 1991, TEACH PSYCHOL, V18, P102.
POYER RK, 1979, MED LIB ASS B, V67, P396.
SWEETLAND JH, 1989, LIBR QUART, V59, P291.
TAYLOR MK, 1998, NURS RES, V47, P300.
WHITE A, 1987, COUNS EDUC SUPERV, V26, P286.
Cited Reference Count: 19