Citations: Locating a wide array of scholarly literature

There has been phenomenal increase in research and scholarly output in recent years. The growth of scientific knowledge is dominantly gradual; we build on past knowledge more often than we relocate it. The first pillar of cognition, a common compilation of knowledge, requires mechanisms for preserving and diffusing judgment within the particular community. By far the most important mechanism in use today is the scientific publication, second being the textbook and classroom. While there are many forms of scientific publication, the two most common are the conference presentation and the peer-reviewed journal paper. Since virtually all logical advances build on past knowledge, it is critical that the new work be placed in the proper background with respect to the past work which helps the present work to develop. The primary means for this is the citation. Within a research, references are placed to other works, creating points of contact with the compilation of scientific literature with the intention to fit the innovative work into the web of data. While adhering to the skeptical aspect of science, citations are also used to help readers verify the quality of the new work and assess the strength of its conclusions.