Thesis Writing
Every CitationLab post tagged thesis writing. This topic runs through several posts across the blog — case files where it caused a real problem, and guides for handling it in your own reference list.
How old is too old? Reference currency by discipline
There is no universal expiry date on a reference. What ageing actually measures, how currency differs by field, and a five-minute audit of your own reference list.
How to find citations missing from your bibliography
A citation with no matching reference entry is the most common correction examiners send back. How to find every missing reference in your thesis — by hand, and with the traps that fool the manual check.
How to tell what citation style your thesis uses
Your thesis probably does not have one style. Identify the shape of each citation instead — six forms, decidable from the surface — and diagnose your own document in ten minutes.
How to update outdated references before submission
Old editions, preprints that got published, moved DOIs, quietly retracted papers — the systematic way to bring a thesis reference list up to date before you submit.
Secondary citations (
A secondary citation names two works and puts only one in your reference list — which looks identical to the commonest defect in a bibliography. What the form claims, when it is the right answer, and how to remove one properly.
The 5-year rule myth
Nobody wrote the five-year rule down, yet every researcher has been told it. Where the number came from, the three real concerns it stands for, and how to answer it.