How many citations should a research paper have
On the basis of various aspects such as your topic, educational level, and the kind of paper that you intend to write, the number of citations in a research paper could differ significantly. We suggest a few useful common procedures:
Standard Citation Ranges
| Academic Level / Paper Type | Citation Range (Approximate) |
| High School Essay | 5-10 sources |
| Undergraduate Research Paper (5-10 pages) | 10-20 sources |
| Graduate-Level Paper (10-20 pages) | 20-50 sources |
| Master’s Thesis / Dissertation | 50-200+ sources |
| Journal Article (published) | 30-100+ sources |
What Really Matters
- Quality over quantity: Latest, reliable, and related sources must be employed.
- Balance: It is not significant to depend extremely on a specific source.
- Contextual: Generally, more citations are needed for further technical or literature-heavy topics.
- Instructions: Any guidelines offered by our journal, field, or mentor should be adhered to.
Valuable Suggestion:
It is significant to cite each crucial idea, concept, evidence, or statement, which is not generally our own. We could cite each and every, several times all over the paper even in case we only conclude utilizing 10 sources.
Citations play a crucial role in research papers. Along with beneficial hints, numerous instructions based on the number of citations in research papers are offered by us in an explicit manner. These could be extremely valuable as well as effective.
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