Vanishing act : the erosion of online footnotes and implications for scholarship in the digital age

A decade ago, most research was done in the library rather than through Web site, and scholars, editors, graduate directors and librarians were meticulous about the integrity of footnotes. They knew that citation was the backbone of research, from agronomy to zoology in the sciences and from art history to Zen studies in the humanities. The footnote upheld standards because it allowed others to test hypotheses or replicate experiments. In sum, the footnote safeguarded scientific method and peer review upon which academe is based, from papers by first-year and transfer students to books by postdoc and professor. Since 2003, authors Michael Bugeja and Daniela Dimitrova (Iowa State University of Science and Technology) have been at the forefront of research on the erosion of online footnotes and its implication for scholarship. Their research has been showcased in The Chronicle of Higher Education and a number of academic journals, including The Serials Librarian, Portals: Libraries and the Academy, New Media and Society and Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, among others. Their book documents the vanishing act in flagship communication journals and provides readers with methods to mitigate the effect. The Footnote Safeguarded Scientific Method And Peer Review Upon Which Academe Is Based, From Papers By First-year And Transfer Students To Books By Postdocs And Professors. Bugeja And Dimitrova Report On The Erosion Of Online Footnotes And Its Implication For Scholarship. They Document The Vanishing Act In Flagship Communication Journals And Provide Readers With Methods To Mitigate The Effect. From Publisher Description. Extinct Citations, Missing Links And Other Bibliographical Wonders -- Internet's Coming Of Age : The Stone Age, That Is, As Far As Citation -- A Brief History Of Footnote Flight -- The Half-life Of Online Footnotes -- What, In Fact, Causes Footnotes To Vanish? -- Opinions Versus Reality : Journal Editors And Vanishing Footnotes -- An Online World As Thin As It Is Wide. By Michael Bugeja And Daniela V. Dimitrova. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. A decade ago, most research was done in the library rather than through its Web site, and scholars, editors, graduate directors and librarians were meticulous about the integrity of footnotes. They knew that citation was the backbone of research, from agronomy to zoology in the sciences and from art history to Zen studies in the humanities. The footnote upheld standards because it allowed others to test hypotheses or replicate experiments. In sum, the footnote safeguarded scientific method and peer review upon which academe is based, from papers by first-year and transfer students to books by postdoc and professor. Contents 8 Acknowledgements 10 Chapter 1 12 Chapter 2 22 Chapter 3 30 Chapter 4 38 Chapter 5 44 Chapter 6 52 Chapter 7 62 Works Cited 74 Appendix A. Methodology 82 Appendix B. Interview Protocol for Journal Editors 86 Appendix C. Summary of Half-life Estimates in Previous Research 88 Appendix D. Online Citations per Journal with Half-life Estimation 90 About the Authors 96