Publication of the opinions of others as if they were his/her ideas is considered as plagiarism. ĭirect citation ideally reflects the viewpoint of the referred author However over-citation might suggest the author’s difficulty in expressing his/her own opinions.Ĭitation is one of the important components of the scientific ethics which honours the person who came up with an original idea. If they should be used, their characteristic features should be indicated, and permission of the author(s) for the publication of data should be obtained. Therefore, unpublished data, data obtained from personal communications or isolated case reports should not be used as references.

To that end, the selected references should have been published in peer-reviewed credible journals, and contain original opinions about the subject. Thanks to the citation of properly selected references, the article gains scientific prestige. Indication of references in scientific publications priorly ensures access to the cited opinions from its original sources which enables improved comprehension of the the study. However if the same sentence is cited in a journal read by non-urologists, then its reference should be indicated. For instance, any reference should not be written for the sentence “One of the most important causes of the lower urinary symptoms (LUTS) in men is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)” mentioned in a review article on benign prostatic hyperplasia.

There is no need to indicate references for information very well known by the readers.

However occasionally as is the case in social sciences, inaccessible sources can be used with the indication of their being secondary references Preferably citation of the sources not available to the author is not desired. The author can use a reference cited in another publication (a secondary reference).

Endnote definition in writing