How many citations is good for a paper
Several major aspects such as the type of paper, educational level, and length have to be considered to decide the appropriate number of citations in a paper. As a means to assist you properly, we suggest a simple guideline in an explicit manner:
Common Instructions by Type of Paper
| Type of Paper | Suggested Number of Citations |
| Short Essay (3–5 pages) | 5–10 |
| Undergraduate Paper (5–10 pages) | 10–20 |
| Master’s Level Paper (10–20 pages) | 20–40 |
| Thesis or Dissertation | 40–200+ (based on field/topic) |
| Journal Article (6–10 pages) | 20–50 |
Other Aspects to Focus on
Domain of Study
- STEM fields: Mostly, these fields cite more latest and related studies but very less in number.
- Humanities or Social Sciences: To demonstrate the extensiveness of literature and insights, they encompass greater citations in general.
Objective of the Paper
- Literature review: Usually, this paper includes greater citations.
- Experimental or statistical report: By concentrating on major relevant works and methodology sources, it encompasses very less citations.
Quality Than Quantity
Focus on the following conditions rather than thinking about reaching a perfect number:
- Our citations must be applicable, and assuring this aspect is important.
- Reliable and current sources have to be encompassed.
- Major latest and basic works should be cited.
- In a repeated manner, we should not cite the same source
- Our paper must not be filled out by including unwanted references.
In order to determine the number of citations for a paper, we offered a common instruction by considering various domains and types of papers. A few suggestions are also provided by us to assure the quality of the paper. So make use of our research paper writing services where all your research hurdles will be covered by us.