Citation politics – Train the Trainer: Teaching and leading in Open Research

Citation politics

---
title: "Citation politics"
#bibliography: references.bib
---

> Who gets cited, who gets overlooked, and what we can do about it.

[Click here to see the materials in full screen](citation-politics-slides.qmd)

```{=html}
<iframe class="slide-deck" src="citation-politics-slides.html" height="420" width="747" style="border: 1px solid #2e3846;"></iframe>
```

## About these materials

::: {.callout-warning collapse="true"}
## Citation statement
Please cite these materials as: Middleton, S., Von Grebmer zu Wolfsthurn, S., & Azevedo, F. (2026). *Citation politics* [Quarto slides]. [LMU Open Science Center](https://www.osc.lmu.de/). [https://lmu-osc.github.io/train-the-trainer-open-research/leadership-open-research/citation-politics/](https://lmu-osc.github.io/train-the-trainer-open-research/leadership-open-research/citation-politics/)
:::

**Welcome!** This workshop aims to examine the concept of citational politics, its links to knowledge production and dissemination and learn to use some tools and practices for more conscientious citations. Across different sections, we will think about the *what* and the *why* of citations and **when** to use them, examine the *mechanisms* and *consequences* of citational inequities and learn how to **conduct a citational self-audit**, before wrapping up with a summary exercise. This workshop draws inspiration from Sauvé et al.'s (2025) [paper](#0) on citational politics.

### Who are these materials for?

- **Aspiring open research instructors**
- **Future open research train-the-trainers** and **educators** in higher education (e.g., universities, colleges) and
- **Self-learners** 

with familiarity about open research challenges, issues and tools.

### Prerequisites

You will need access to a piece of your **own work** (a report, essay, journal article, blog post, presentation) containing a **bibliography** with **10 or more references**, preferably in **.bib** or **.txt** file format (this is needed for the [GBAT assessment](https://jlsumner.shinyapps.io/syllabustool/)).

### Learning objectives

-   **Recognize** the social and political context of citations
-   **Explain** why citational practices are not neutral
-   **Identify** and **describe** some of the mechanisms and effects of citational inequities
-   **Give** examples of how consequences of citational disparities impact individuals and the research ecosystem
-   **Recognize** the main stages of research from ideas to producing a report, essay, journal article
-   **Classify** which citational tools and practices can be used during each of the four major research stages: planning, project, paper and publication
-   **Assess** the gender diversity of a bibliography from your own work
-   **Summarize** the key terms relating to citational politics (citations, citational politics, citational cliques)
-   **Explain** how to conduct a self-audit of your citation practices

### Export slides

You can export these slides as MS PowerPoint (.pptx - *in progress*) or pdf by clicking below. Note that basic formatting will be applied to the PowerPoint file.

<!-- download as pdf -->
<a href="citation-politics-slides.pdf"
   download="citation-politics-slides.pdf"
   class="btn btn-primary">
  Download slides as PDF
</a>

## Contributors and licence details

**Creator**: Middleton, Sara (![](images/ORCID-iD_icon_16x16.png){fig-alt="orcid logo"}[0000-0001-5307-8029](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5307-8029))

**Reviewer**: Von Grebmer zu Wolfsthurn, Sarah (![](images/ORCID-iD_icon_16x16.png){fig-alt="orcid logo"} [0000-0002-6413-3895](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6413-3895))

**Consultant**: Azevedo, Flavio (![](images/ORCID-iD_icon_16x16.png){fig-alt="orcid logo"} [0000-0001-9000-8513](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9000-8513))

<br>

<p style="text-align:center;">
  <img src="images/cc-by-sa.png" 
  alt="Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0"
  style="width:160px;" />
</p>

<div style="background-color: #f0f0f0; padding: 0.05em; border-radius: 2px; font-size: 0.6em;">
This current work by Sara Lil Middleton, Sarah von Grebmer zu Wolfsthurn,  and Flavio Azevedo is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International SA License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en) (CC-BY-SA 4.0).
</div>