Referring to Schools of Thought: An Example of Symbolic Citations

Abstract

Referring to a previously published paper may perform the function of referring to a school of thought symbolized by that paper. In some cases, both sides of an intellectual debate can be found in references to a single document. In these cases, citation analysis may find a higher proportion of negative references than usual. An example is given of an article that has come to symbolize one perspective in an intellectual debate, and the pattern of references to that paper is analyzed.