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How Many References in a Research Paper?
Junior researchers frequently wonder how many references should be included in their research papers. The common response? “As many as you need.” What exactly does that mean? While we admit there are very few hard-set rules regarding this issue, in this article, we will try to provide more concrete guidelines that will help you assess whether you have enough references in your paper.
Before we do so, let us briefly explain why references matter and whether the number of references you include can project certain perceptions about the quality of your work. There is such a thing as having too many or too few.
Why are research paper references and citations necessary?
References show that you have carefully reviewed the relevant literature and are now contributing something novel to the academic community. You establish authority and credibility when you can critically assess other literature and distinguish your findings from previous works (if any exist). We emphasize “critically assess” in the last sentence because references are only as good as you apply them to your research. Therefore, the famous adage “quality over quantity” is the key to deciding how many references are sufficient.
Likewise, citing your references within the research paper itself (in the form of academic citations ) is crucial in any academic work that makes assertations based on external studies. Failing to cite your sources can result in plagiarism, which even if accidental can still have some devastating consequences for academic researchers hoping to publish their work or finish graduate school.
Number of Sources Used Can Impact Perceptions of Quality
We would be remiss if we didn’t tell you that being at either extreme (having too few or too many references) can reflect poorly on your intellectual aptitude and your study’s validity. Here’s why:
- If you don’t have enough references, particularly on a topic familiar to a wide audience, readers may think that you haven’t done enough research into existing literature. Surely someone else has thought about related topics or used similar techniques. If you’re sloppy in conducting your diligence, readers will wonder whether your paper is worth reading. What’s novel and valuable about your paper? Were you just as sloppy with conducting your study? The answers to these questions need to be evident.
- Additionally, readers might be concerned that you may have plagiarized by failing to properly cite information. Unless you’re John Nash, who cited only two texts in his seminal 26-page PhD thesis (one of which was to his prior work), ensure that you’ve properly researched the relevant papers and included appropriate citations! Especially, make sure that you have found, read, and included all the latest publications on your topic before finalizing and submitting your own paper—if the drafting process took some time, new literature might have come out in the meantime, and you don’t want to give the editor the impression that you are not on top of the newest developments.
- If you have too many references, readers may wonder if you did any original research at all. Unless you’re writing a literature review, your paper’s primary focus should be on your investigation and findings. Don’t bury your hard work under strings of citations and discussion regarding other works. Show your readers what you’ve discovered and how the new information you present fits into or departs from the academic community’s current understanding of your topic.
Additionally, let us highlight the difference between the number of references versus citations. References are the source materials; therefore, each reference should be listed only once in your references section. Citations are meant to identify the source of the information you use in your paper. You can cite a reference multiple times. Therefore, the number of citations you have is typically larger than the number of references an average paper includes. The opposite situation should never happen!
Key Factors Influencing the Number of References You Use
The following are some of the many factors that may influence the number of references you use:
- The number of references required for a paper will depend largely on your work’s purpose . For example, literature and systematic reviews are surveys of existing studies. Therefore, their reference lists will be more exhaustive than those of research papers whose primary focus is the current authors’ findings. Indeed, if you examine many journals’ author guidelines , you’ll note that journals have a higher maximum reference limit for review articles than original research papers.
- The length of your reference list will also depend on your research paper’s subject matter . For example, if you are writing about a field that is less studied (such as a subfield of neuroparasitology) you may discover that there aren’t many papers to cite. Similarly, newer fields will have fewer published papers that can be referenced. If you find yourself in this situation, review the references used by relevant current literature and see if you can expand your research, and thus your reference list, with valuable content from there.
- Another factor will be your institution or journal’s requirements . If you are preparing a dissertation or thesis, double-check your department’s requirements. While rare, they may have specific limits. More commonly, journals restrict the number of references due to printing constraints.
- It may happen that you don’t have access to certain literature that could have served as a reference. In such a situation, you may wish to look for an institution that may be able to provide you access to that literature for the purposes of reviewing the content or contact one of the authors directly and ask for a copy.
- Given that more papers are being published than ever before in most fields, it is likely that reference lists will grow longer simply because there are more data and discussions of existing data available to cite . Keep track of changes to the size of reference lists in publications related to your field.
- Finally, a paper’s length bears some correlation to the number of references.
So how many references should be included?
Below, we provide tips on how to decide if you have enough resources. We also provide some general reminders on how to effectively use references. After all, references are meant to enhance your paper while still maintaining your research as the focal point.
Use academic journals as a guide
- One way to gauge how many references you should have is to survey academic journals for your article type in your field. Review their author guidelines for limits on the number of references for your article type, and make sure your reference list complies with those journal restrictions.
- Read recent articles relevant to your topic; check how many references other authors have included in their papers for the same article type as yours, and how frequently those works were cited per page.
- Keep in mind that the above methods will give you an estimate of how many references you should include overall but will not tell you how many citations you’ll need per page. The latter is impossible to state simply because certain sections may have no citations at all (the results section , for example).
Statistics regarding the number of references and citations
To give you a general idea, the following are some estimates from a couple of studies that examined the citation characteristics of articles published in various disciplines.
According to Milojević’s study encompassing research in the fields of astronomy, mathematics, robotics, ecology, and economics, the highest and average number of references per article page were as follows:
- Ecology: highest, ~58; average reference per page, 6;
- Math and robotics: highest, ~28; average reference per page, <1; and
- Economics: highest, ~ 32; average reference per page, >1 but <2.
The above findings were based on data compiled from the first 20 years of the author’s research. Since then some fields have increased the number of references. Thus, make sure to examine your target journal’s most recent and relevant publications for a better idea of how many references to include based on the specific type of article you plan to write.
In another study by Falagas et al. (2013), medical journals averaged 29 references for articles that were 7.88 pages long (as printed in journals).
Finally, although the sample size was small (63 journals), Gali Halevi observed the following citation trends of a broader range of disciplines.
- The average number of references per article was the highest for the social sciences, physics, and astronomy, and arts & humanities (roughly 54 references per article).
- On the other hand, health professions and earth and planetary sciences had the fewest references per article at an average of 8 and 17 references, respectively.
- Math and engineering averaged at roughly 29 references per article.
- Biochemistry, genetics and molecular and other biological sciences averaged at 51.
- Hard and natural sciences more frequently cited recent literature while social sciences and math were likely to include older sources.
Note that the Halevi study is limited in size, fails to factor in article type and does little to account for variances across different fields and journals. For example, it is possible that more review articles could have been reviewed for certain fields than others. With that said, we provide the above information to provide a rough estimate.
At the end of the day, please keep in mind the requirements of your institution or target journal and the general trends for your specific article type (by examining the most recent relevant publications).
For additional information regarding journal restrictions on the number of references, read this article on ways to grow your publication list .
Some Dos and Don’ts for Reference Citation
- Don’t repeat references within a reference list.
- Don’t repeatedly cite yourself. Make sure to balance your discussion with external literature citations.
- Be careful about citing old references. The rule of thumb is to go back at most five to six years. Exceptions to this rule should be reserved for “seminal” works relevant to explaining what prompted your research. Roughly 85% of all cited works should be less than five years old.
- Be careful not to cite several references in one place without discussing the relevance of each work to your research. In other words, don’t say, “We referred to previous studies in this field (1-7)” unless you later explain how each of reference #s 1-7 apply to your discussion.
- Confirm the quality of the work you cite. Are there any ethical issues regarding the paper that would disqualify it as a good source? Do your references come from reputable sources such as respected journals rather than random blogs and website links? Remember that your analysis is only as good as the verifiable information you use to conduct your research.
- One of the main purposes of citing existing literature is to show the “knowledge gap” regarding your topic. Therefore, make sure the works you reference naturally lead readers to wonder about the research question you address in your paper. To explain further, think about your favorite fictional story. A successfully written story only reveals the background information needed for the reader to follow along in the story. You’ll rarely see an author waste time writing about how the main character stubbed his toe one day while going to work unless that event relates to an important aspect of the story. Similarly, the references you cite should support the story building you create in your research paper.
- Don’t completely ignore the paper that could disprove your hypothesis. You want to show objectivity and that you took a balanced and unbiased approach to conducting your research. Mention the potentially conflicting evidence and explain why you believe it is flawed or inapplicable to your research.
- In qualitative research papers, you may have fewer references.
- Anything you cite in your paper should be listed in the references section (or reference list). Anything listed as a reference should have been quoted or paraphrased in the text. If either rule is violated, something is wrong.
- Finally, remember that a paper will typically have more citations in the Introduction section and Discussion section than in other parts.
Wordvice Academic Resources
If you need help with paraphrasing text from the sources you cite to avoid plagiarism, with different citation styles , or with finding the perfect journal to submit your paper to, then have a look at our collection of articles on the Wordvice academic resources website . We also recommend our professional English editing and proofreading services , including paper editing and academic editing services to ensure that your writing is free of errors before submitting your manuscript to a journal.
How Many References Should a Research Paper Have? Study of 96,685 Articles
I analyzed a random sample of 96,685 full-text research papers, uploaded to PubMed Central between the years 2016 and 2021, in order to answer the question:
How many references should you cite when writing a research article?
I used the BioC API to download the data (see the References section below).
Here’s a summary of the key findings
1- The average number of references for a research paper is 45 , with 90% of research papers having between 8 and 102 references. However, this number depends a lot on study design . For instance, a systematic review typically has 49 references while a case report has only 24.
2- As a rule of thumb, consider citing 1 reference for every 95 words (or 4 sentences) .
3- The more research you do will be reflected in the number of references you use in your paper, since high-quality articles usually have 5 more references than the median .
How many references does a typical article have?
The histogram below shows that most research papers have between 25 to 50 references, and only a few exceed 100:
Because the distribution has a right tail, the median number of references becomes a more reliable metric than the mean. Here are a few other numbers that summarize the data:
From this table we can conclude that:
The median research paper has 39 references, and 50% of papers have between 25 and 56 references. An article can have as few as 1 reference as a minimum, and 911 references as a maximum.
Next, let’s see if the number of references depends on the study design.
Should the study design influence the number of references you use?
The table below shows that:
1- Secondary study designs (systematic reviews and meta-analyses) have the highest number of references (median = 49), which is to be expected as these articles review a large body of information.
2- Experimental, quasi-experimental and analytical designs typically have between 35 and 39 references.
3- Descriptive designs (case reports and case series) have the lowest number of references (median ≈ 25), which also makes sense as these describe the clinical story of a single (or a few) patient(s) and generally have a very short literature review section.
How often should you cite in a research paper?
Some journals may specify the maximum number of citations allowed. For instance, Nature allows articles to have at most 30 references in the main text [ Source ]. So make sure to check the authorship guidelines of the journal where you want to submit.
That being said, often is the case where we ask ourselves: am I taking too much information from outside sources? or maybe too few? So I would argue that it would be useful to know, for a given article size, how many references to cite.
If we measure the length of all the articles in our dataset combined and divide it by the total number of references, we get the following numbers:
On average, 1 reference is cited for every 95 words, that is 1 reference for every 4 sentences. In terms of paragraphs, an article has approximately 1.5 references for each paragraph.
Here’s a table that shows the median number of references cited for each word count category:
Does using more references make your article better?
Hypothesis 1: It is well-known that citing more resources is usually associated with more in-depth research, therefore, we would expect high-quality articles to include a higher number of references.
Hypothesis 2: Some experts believe that a good writing habit is to keep the number of references to a minimum (see: Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers by Mimi Zeiger), so according to this hypothesis, high-quality articles should have, on average, fewer references.
Let’s find out what researchers are doing in practice and which hypothesis our data support.
In order to answer the question, I collected the journal impact factor (JIF) for 71,579 articles and divided the dataset into 2 groups:
- research papers published in low impact journals (JIF ≤ 3): this subset consisted of 34,758 articles
- research papers published in high impact journals (JIF > 3): this subset consisted of 36,821 articles
After controlling for study design, the group with JIF ≤ 3 had a median number of references of 37, while the group with JIF > 3 had a median of 44.
Remember that the median article overall had 39 references (as we saw above), so based on these results, we can conclude that:
High-quality articles, in general, have about 5 more references than the median article. So a comprehensive literature review and a more in-depth discussion section can make the difference between a good and an excellent research article.
- Comeau DC, Wei CH, Islamaj Doğan R, and Lu Z. PMC text mining subset in BioC: about 3 million full text articles and growing, Bioinformatics , btz070, 2019.
Further reading
- How Old Should References Be? Based on 3,823,919 Examples
- Statistical Software Popularity in 40,582 Research Papers
- Programming Languages Popularity in 12,086 Research Papers
- Length of a Conclusion Section: Analysis of 47,810 Examples
- How Long Should a Research Paper Be? Data from 61,519 Examples
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Writing Research Papers
- What Types of References Are Appropriate?
When writing a research paper, there are many different types of sources that you might consider citing. Which are appropriate? Which are less appropriate? Here we discuss the different types of sources that you may wish to use when working on a research paper.
Please note that the following represents a general set of recommended guidelines that is not specific to any class and does not represent department policy. The types of allowable sources may vary by course and instructor.
Highly appropriate: peer-reviewed journal articles
In general, you should primarily cite peer-reviewed journal articles in your research papers. Peer-reviewed journal articles are research papers that have been accepted for publication after having undergone a rigorous editorial review process. During that review process, the article was carefully evaluated by at least one journal editor and a group of reviewers (usually scientists that are experts in the field or topic under investigation). Often the article underwent revisions before it was judged to be satisfactory for publication.
Most articles submitted to high quality journals are not accepted for publication. As such, research that is successfully published in a respected peer-reviewed journal is generally regarded as higher quality than research that is not published or is published elsewhere, such as in a book, magazine, or on a website. However, just because a study was published in a peer-reviewed journal does not mean that it is free from error or that its conclusions are correct. Accordingly, it is important to critically read and carefully evaluate all sources, including peer-reviewed journal articles.
Tips for finding and using peer-reviewed journal articles:
- Many databases, such as PsycINFO, can be set to only search for peer-reviewed journal articles. Other search engines, such as Google Scholar, typically include both peer-reviewed and not peer-reviewed articles in search results, and thus should be used with greater caution.
- Even though a peer-reviewed journal article is, by definition, a source that has been carefully vetted through an editorial process, it should still be critically evaluated by the reader.
Potentially appropriate: books, encyclopedias, and other scholarly works
Another potential source that you might use when writing a research paper is a book, encyclopedia, or an official online source (such as demographic data drawn from a government website). When relying on such sources, it is important to carefully consider its accuracy and trustworthiness. For example, books vary in quality; most have not undergone any form of review process other than basic copyediting. In many cases, a book’s content is little more than the author’s informed or uninformed opinion.
However, there are books that have been edited prior to publication, as is the case with many reputable encyclopedias; also, many books from academic publishers are comprised of multiple chapters, each written by one or more researchers, with the entire volume carefully reviewed by one or more editors. In those cases, the book has undergone a form of peer review, albeit often not as rigorous as that for a peer-reviewed journal article.
Tips for using books, encyclopedias, and other scholarly works:
- When using books, encyclopedias, and other scholarly works (that is, works written or produced by researchers, official agencies, or corporations), it is important to very carefully evaluate the quality of that source.
- If the source is an edited volume (in which case in the editor(s) will be listed on the cover), is published by a reputable source (such as Academic Press, MIT Press, and others), or is written by a major expert in the field (such as a researcher with a track record of peer-reviewed journal articles on the subject), then it is more likely to be trustworthy.
- For online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia, an instructor may or may not consider that an acceptable source (by default, don’t assume that a non-peer reviewed source will be considered acceptable). It is best to ask the instructor for clarification. 1
Usually inappropriate: magazines, blogs, and websites
Most research papers can be written using only peer-reviewed journal articles as sources. However, for many topics it is possible to find a plethora of sources that have not been peer-reviewed but also discuss the topic. These may include articles in popular magazines or postings in blogs, forums, and other websites. In general, although these sources may be well-written and easy to understand, their scientific value is often not as high as that of peer-reviewed articles. Exceptions include some magazine and newspaper articles that might be cited in a research paper to make a point about public awareness of a given topic, to illustrate beliefs and attitudes about a given topic among journalists, or to refer to a news event that is relevant to a given topic.
Tips for using magazines, blogs, and websites:
- Avoid such references if possible. You should primarily focus on peer-reviewed journal articles as sources for your research paper. High quality research papers typically do not rely on non-academic and not peer-reviewed sources.
- Refer to non-academic, not peer-reviewed sources sparingly, and if you do, be sure to carefully evaluate the accuracy and scientific merit of the source.
Downloadable Resources
- How to Write APA Style Research Papers (a comprehensive guide) [ PDF ]
- Tips for Writing APA Style Research Papers (a brief summary) [ PDF ]
Further Resources
How-To Videos
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Databases and Search Engines (may require connection to UCSD network)
- Google Scholar
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- Web of Science
UCSD Resources on Finding and Evaluating Sources
- UCSD Library Databases A-Z
- UCSD Library Psychology Research Guide: Start Page
- UCSD Library Psychology Research Guide : Finding Articles
- UCSD Library Psychology Research Guide : Evaluating Sources
External Resources
- Critically Reading Journal Articles from PSU/ Colby College
- How to Seriously Read a Journal Article from Science Magazine
- How to Read Journal Articles from Harvard University
- How to Read a Scientific Paper Infographic from Elsevier Publishing
- Tips for searching PsycINFO from UC Berkeley Library
- Tips for using PsycINFO effectively from the APA Student Science Council
1 Wikipedia articles vary in quality; the site has a peer review system and the very best articles ( Featured Articles ), which go through a multi-stage review process, rival those in traditional encyclopedias and are considered the highest quality articles on the site.
Prepared by s. c. pan for ucsd psychology, graphic adapted from t-x-generic-apply.svg , a public domain creation by the tango desktop project..
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How many references should a research paper have.
- February 21, 2022
What is referencing?
Referencing can be termed as the act of acknowledging or recognizing the sources you derived your ideas from when writing any academic work.
Many people involve themselves in this act intentionally and unintentionally. Plagiarism is taking one’s writing or ideas and claiming them as yours without proper acknowledgement. Poor organization and time management can be a major factor in this act. To avoid being an ‘academic theft’, one needs to decline from the habit of stealing people’s ideas (plagiarism) without giving them the credit they deserve, so this is where referencing comes in.
Why is referencing important?
When it comes to research writing be it a journal, article, review papers, projects, thesis etc referencing is an important factor one should never neglect. References help us acknowledge the contributions of other writers and researchers in our field of study.
Regarding the right number of references, just as there are two sides to a coin, there are good and bad reasons why one should use as many as possible references. Let’s take a quick look at the disadvantages.
Flaws of having too many references
- A major disadvantage of having too many references is that it may hinder the flow of the paper. Secondly, it may show that you are not very well versed in your field of research and have to rely on an overwhelming number of citations.
- It sends a signal that your work is not very interesting.
- It puts your work at risk, making other reviewers overly critical of your work.
- You tend to flood your work with too many ideas.
Yes, referencing is a way of giving credit to writers from whom you have borrowed words and ideas. However, endeavor not to give too much credit so your hard work wouldn’t have to suffer for it.
Benefits of too many references
The good side to having many references is stated below, It:
- Enables your readers/reviewers to consult the original articles or sources.
- Helps identify the salient points when you quote the original.
- Shows readers the scope and depth of your reading.
- Incorporates information by evaluating, comparing and contrasting it to show understanding.
- Relates to other research that leads up to your study.
- Helps you take a side to a scholarly argument objectively.
How many references is enough?
Having compared both sides of the coin, we conclude that the number of references that should be used in a research paper depends on the relevant literature available in a particular field of research. So, do not go with less and too much either. Let there be a balance in your choice. Just cite about enough sources that are necessary for your paper.
There are no specific ranges that are seen as standard. The number of references also depends on the kind of research you’re undertaking, it may be a journal, an article, a thesis or a review paper.
Overall, do not let your scholarly contribution be drowned in the sea of references.
Do you need help with your referencing? Speak with a consultant.
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A well written research paper has several reference true or false
Explanation:
help for plsss your
Having a numerous references will help the researchers to expand their knowledge on the certain topic.
New questions in English
Appropriate Number of Sources/References for Research Paper
Writing a research paper requires gathering information, synthesizing it, critically analyzing it, and organizing it into a research paper format that is preferred or recommended by your instructor/institution. While writing certainly takes up much of the time allocated for a research paper, finding the sources to use takes the bulk of it. If you do not know how many references to use in a research paper, you can spend much of your time in an endless cycle of research.
However, when you determine the best number of sources to use and know where to find these sources, you will write a research paper within or before the deadline.
The issue of how many sources is required for a research paper is weighty. Some students we edit research papers for complain that their instructor stated that they need to add sources. Usually, we have discovered that it often occurs when the instructor does not advise on the appropriate number of references to be used. We are addressing this and other related factors in this guide.
This guide can be used as a cheat sheet for writing excellent academic term papers, assignments, homework, essay, or research paper. However, our main focus is how to integrate sources from research into your research paper, the number of references to use, where to get these sources, how to tell a good source, and other nitty-gritty.
Why must you use external sources when writing your Research Paper?
It is crucial to include outside sources in your research paper because they enrich your thinking, reinforce your arguments, and give you the power to present your arguments in the paper.
Using external sources also distinguishes your ideas from the ideas of others – you get the chance to appreciate the work of other researchers, which by extension, helps prevent plagiarism.
When writing an assignment, you draw ideas, examples, or evidence from the sources to support and reinforce your ideas and stance. It is for this reason that these sources are cited. However, when writing a research paper, it is a thesis-driven paper rather than a source-driven paper – like the annotated bibliography. Therefore, ensure that the sources you are using are related to your thesis or central argument.
You use evidence from the sources to support your thesis statement. In this sense, the scholarly sources help you contribute to the scholarly conversation with experienced scholars on your topic. You, by extension, give authority, relevance, and strength to your research paper, essay, or dissertation when you use credible sources.
Given the significance of external sources, not only when writing a research paper but also when writing a dissertation, essays, theses, reports, and term papers, it is important to use credible scholarly sources. Using credible sources helps your audience to see how you have backed your assertion with evidence. Ensure that your research paper has various sources to have a rounded view, diverse perspective, several voices, and reduce the chances of bias.
What is the best number of sources for a research paper?
As a general rule, the minimum number of sources to use in a research paper should match the number of pages of your research paper. That is to say that every page of a research paper must have one reference (not citations). So, assuming you are writing a 7-page research paper, you would need at least seven sources, although five can suffice. Of course, the number of sources is further determined by factors such as institutional requirements, rubrics, instructions from your instructor, and the complexity of your paper. However, maintaining such a match ensures that your content has well-balanced citations, critical analysis, good organization, and flow of ideas.
If you are unsure about the number of sources to use in your research paper, the best thing to do is to ask your instructor soon as you are assigned to write a research paper.
Otherwise, if no response is forthcoming, let the minimum number of sources be the same number as the number of pages for you to align the length of the research paper to the quality of its content.
When using sources, don’t just throw them in your text as in-text citations; use them sparingly. For example, you can use them when giving examples, presenting arguments, quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing ideas from the sources.
And, of course, your entire paper should not be about the sources. Instead, analyze, criticize and write facts, then borrow from these sources to bolster your arguments. That way, you can write a top-grade research paper that scores you better marks. Check out our research paper writing guide for more insights.
Key Determinants of the Number of References/Sources to use
Many factors influence the number of references you can use in a research paper or essay. They define the right number of references, which means doing it right to avoid plagiarism. We advise that you determine the number of sources when writing a research paper outline so that the scope of your paper and research is defined early enough. You have a limited number of pages to write an essay. You cannot use every source available on your topic. You have to be very picky and meticulous. Here are some factors to consider when the number of references to use is not apparent.
Your personal Choice
If you notice that the instructor has not given you the exact number of sources to use or has allowed you the freedom to use whatever number of sources that you please, you need to be very careful when making such a choice.
We recommend using a manageable number of sources. You could go with as many as you want but don’t overdo it. Ensure that each source from where you summarize, paraphrase, or quote ideas is appropriately cited in the research paper. If you do not cite the sources, you might be accused of plagiarism that has severe consequences.
If you are unsure about the sources to use, we can help you. Our research paper writers understand how to plan, write, and format research papers with optimum references.
How challenging the topic is
In-depth and challenging topics require slightly more sources for a standard research paper. However, even when it is a short or long research paper, the complexity of the topic will ultimately determine the number of sources you use.
When writing about a complex topic that requires arguments, especially for controversial issues, it is best to use many sources to support, refute, or weigh arguments. In this case, researching further will help you identify good sources and facts that you can use to refine your arguments and support the research paper claims. On the other hand, simple topics that are direct will not need many references.
In short, the more complex the topic, the more the sources.
Content of the research paper
The subject matter of your research paper will define the number of references in your reference list. If, for instance, you are writing about a less studied topic or field, take the example of neuroscience or nanotechnology, you will notice that there is a dearth of previously written papers that you can cite. Newer fields of study also have few published studies. In this case, focus on the relevant current sources and not the number.
Paper Instructions/Rubric
Some teachers are generous enough to include the minimum sources to use in your research paper assignment. However, when the number of sources is specified, you better stick to it because failing to do so might lead to a deduction of marks.
A teacher who specifies the sources to be used understands the confusion that often comes when none is specified. They also do so to ensure that students engage in research to find credible sources.
Another reason is that specifying the resources also limits the scope of research one needs to take to write a paper. It makes the research process enjoyable so that everyone is comfortable, including the sources. It is also a move to check whether the students have grasped the formatting styles and using sources. For instance, the APA formatting style follows a different convention from Chicago and MLA.
Data and Statistics
In most research papers, such as nursing research papers, philosophy research papers, and others, you will most likely apply statistics and data. If your research paper requires data and statistics from various sources, you will use many sources. For example, you need to provide quantifiable evidence when writing a quantitative research paper. Otherwise, for a paper that dwells on qualitative research, you will not need so many sources.
Suppose, for instance, you state that 85% of college students in America hate writing research papers due to the tedious writing and research process. In that case, you have to give facts from higher education journals, newspaper articles, periodicals, or relevant educational organization websites.
Because you are not the one that conducted the research, you have to acknowledge the source.
Institutional Research paper Standards
Most institutions have their norms. Colleges, universities, and high schools or professional bodies have their preferred ways of doing things. The same applies to research papers. For instance, most nursing schools require students to use nursing peer-reviewed journals published in the last 5 or 7 years.
Some schools will stick to a given number of references for research papers. For example, some schools require undergraduates to use at least ten sources in their research papers, but some might need less or more depending on the course. Others will simply tell you to match the sources to the pages of your content. So, if you are writing an 8-page research paper, for instance, you will need to use at least eight sources.
How to use sources in your Research Paper or academic paper
There are three major ways of integrating external sources into your research paper to support your central argument or present a counterclaim:
- Summary -You can summarize the many ideas that a given author or source has discussed using your own words and citing the author (s) of the specific source.
- Paraphrasing – you can also paraphrase by stating the ideas from the other source using your own words akin to summarizing. You need an appropriate citation even though you are using your own words if the ideas, evidence, or facts were drawn from another source.
- Quotation – when you lift the exact words from another source, you will be quoting. There are rules for a quotation as per the different formatting styles such as MLA, APA, Chicago, or Turabian formats. You must give the exact page number of the source where you are drawing the quote.
Paraphrasing entails writing in your own words. Do not fall into the temptation of changing a few words from the original source or simply restating the information exactly as is using different words. That will be considered Plagiarism. If you cannot state the words using your words, you are better off using a direct quotation.
When using evidence from other sources in your paper:
- Mention the author, date, and any relevant information when paraphrasing, summarizing or introducing a quote. For example, you could say, According to Oliver (2015) … or Oliver (2016), opines that…
- Include a complete bibliography of the source material
- Relate your source and analysis to your original thesis
What sources should you use for a research paper?
You are probably wondering where to get the sources or references for your research paper. Although most of the instructors will partially cover this, it is an important aspect not only for research papers but also for your entire high school, college, university, or graduate-level papers.
There are three main categories of academic resources for research papers: primary, secondary, and tertiary research paper sources. The primary sources are based on different studies such as surveys, poems, court records, diaries, journals, interviews, research papers, and fieldwork, primarily published in academic journals.
The secondary resources have an analysis or description of the primary source. These could be articles, peer-reviewed journals, and books that interpret or review other sources, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and textbooks.
The tertiary sources organize and help in detecting secondary and primary material. They include indexes, databases, or abstracts.
To get a good source, you need to come up with keywords relating to your topic. Once you have these seed keywords, the first step is to search online. You can use search engines such as Duckduckgo, Google, Bing, or Yahoo. You will get a lot of information that can further help you build up your list of keywords for further search.
If you are to select good sources, only choose credible sources. For example, avoid blogs when writing a paper, same as Wikipedia. However, Wikipedia and blogs can be a great starting point to understand your topic.
You can get books, articles, and journals from online scholarly databases such as Ebscohost, Google Scholar, ProQuest, LexisNexis, PubMed, OVID, etc. the scholarly articles from these databases are reliable and relevant as long as you match them up to your topic.
You can also check magazines and newspapers. They are a great source of current news, latest occurrences, shifting debates, etc. You can check out credible news outlets such as The New York Times, Times Magazine, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, and many other platforms.
If you prefer it the old way, you can visit the library and get good sources for your research paper. Librarians are usually very resourceful and can help you locate both online and offline resources as long as you specify your topic to them.
List of Credible Research Paper Sources
If you are writing a paper, you should focus first on getting a good topic then using it to develop keywords that you can use to search for reliable sources for your assignment. The process can be challenging, especially given that the internet has too much information. Good sources strengthen your arguments. Avoid websites and Wikipedia, but use them to learn more about your topic.
Here is a list of sources to get your facts from:
Research Organizations
- Rand Corporation
- The Center for Economic Policy and Research
- The Milken Institute
- Institute of Defense Analyses
- National Institute for Health Research
- The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
- The National Health Service
Academic Libraries and Databases
- Sage Publications
- Science Direct
- Springer Science + Business Media
- Google Scholar
Professional Standards Organizations
- International Organization for Standardization
- American Psychological Association
- American Medical Association
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- International Atomic Energy Agency
- National Association of Professional Engineers
How to Tell the Credibility of Sources
There are many preferred methods used to determine the credibility of references to be used not only in research papers but also in other types of academic writing tasks. However, the CRAAP test is the widely used test that helps determine the fitness of a reference to be used in a research paper. You can use the test to evaluate the quality, relevance, and trustworthiness of a source based on its Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose.
Currency: the timeliness of the information
- When was the information published or posted?
- Has the information been revised or updated?
- Is the information current or out-of-date for your topic?
- Are the links functional?
- Are the arguments relevant to current affairs?
- Does the source adequately cover the topic you are researching?
Relevance: the importance of the information for your needs
- Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
- Who is the intended audience?
- Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e., not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?
- Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?
- Would you be comfortable using this source for a research paper?
Authority: the source of the information
- Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
- Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
- What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
- What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
- Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?
- Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source? examples: .com (commercial), .edu (educational), .gov (U.S. government), .org (nonprofit organization), or .net (network)
Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content
- Where does the information come from?
- Does evidence support the information?
- Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
- Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
- Does the language or tone seem biased and free of emotion?
- Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?
Purpose: the reason the information exists
- Is the source objective enough?
- What is the purpose of the information? To inform? Teach? Sell? Entertain? Persuade?
- Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
- Is the information fact? Opinion? Propaganda?
- Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
- Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?
Dos and Don’ts when using References
Our team of research writers has been generous enough to share some wisdom on what you should do or not do when using references in your academic writing.
- Avoid repeating references in your reference list.
- Balance your discussion with citations of external literature by experts, scholars, and authors.
- Avoid repeatedly citing yourself in your papers.
- Be extremely careful when citing old sources because it is most likely they have obsolete arguments.
- As a rule of thumb, only go back at most five or six years back. Beyond that, a source gets obsolete. However, if seminal works prompt an idea you are researching, you can use those old sources. The same applies to historical sources.
- Confirm the credibility of a source before using it in your paper.
- Never fake sources when writing an academic paper; it is plagiarism.
- Everything cited within the text must feature in the reference list
- Be keen when creating the references page. Title it as per the required formatting style: References – APA; Reference List/Bibliography – Harvard, Bibliography -Chicago, Oxford, Turabian, etc.
- Some parts such as the discussion, literature review, and background might have more references than other parts.
- Never include a citation in the conclusion.
- You can sparingly use a citation in your introduction. Do not overdo it.
Related reading: How to find textbooks online for free.
FAQs about the Number of Sources for a Research Paper
How do i determine the number of sources to use in my research paper.
- Check the assignment instructions/rubric/guide
- Ask your instructor or professor
- Peg it on the length of the paper
- Personally assess to determine what number is appropriate
What sources do I use in my research paper?
Some of the best sources or references to use in a research paper include magazine articles from trusted media houses, scholarly articles, peer-reviewed articles, reputable and reliable websites, journal articles, periodicals, governmental publications, organizational publications, PowerPoint presentations from class, dissertations, and other sources suggested in your rubric, instructions, or research paper prompt.
How many sources should I use in a 20-page paper?
It depends on the scope of the paper, its technicality, and the content required. If the 20-page paper is simple, assuming it is like a normal essay, you will need to use 20 sources. However, if the 20-page paper in question is complicated, such as papers in medicine, geography, history, anthropology, aviation, or nursing, you can extend the sources to 40. If there is too much statistics and data, you could go as high as 45-50, but you have to ask your instructor the optimum number of sources to use.
How many sources can I use in a 15-page essay?
If you are writing a 15-page paper, you should prepare at least 15 sources to use in the paper. However, you are allowed to extend to 20 sources if the topic is demanding or you want to draw meaningful conclusions using insights from multiple sources.
How many sources for a 10-page paper?
As a standard rule of thumb for research paper sources, a page should have one source. Therefore, a 10-page paper should have a minimum of 10 references or credible sources. However, if the topic is too complex, you can still use the ten or 15 sources. Thus, ten sources are efficient for a college, university, or graduate-level 10-page research paper.
How many sources for a 7-page paper?
For a standard 7-page paper, you should use a minimum of 5-7 sources. Using the minimum allows you to objectively present the ideas and tie them to the topic you are writing about. Even though you can use 10-15 sources, check on the limit as you want to make sense of the paper, based on arguments rather than mere reports of who said what.
How many sources for a 5-page paper?
Assuming that a page requires at least one source, a five-page paper can have a minimum of 5 sources/references. However, you might use more sources in a 5-page paper but be mindful not to dilute the content so that it becomes overly descriptive than critical. We would suggest not exceeding eight references for a standard 5-page paper. However, you can use ten references but be very vigilant.
Gradecrest is a professional writing service that provides original model papers. We offer personalized services along with research materials for assistance purposes only. All the materials from our website should be used with proper references. See our Terms of Use Page for proper details.
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