Why Who You Cite Matters
One way that articles, research, and authors are evaluated is by the number of times their work is cited. Their work is considered more impactful, and ultimately more important, the more it is cited. Unfortunately, due to privilege and systemic discrimination described on the P is for Privilege page, the authors published in more traditionally prestigious journals are lacking in diversity.
The more an article or author is cited, the easier it will be to find their work and cite it again, creating a circular situation where the more privileged authors continue to gain more and more notoriety and acclaim while authors from less privileged groups are excluded. This creates a lack of diverse perspectives in academic scholarship and in your own research. Ultimately this cycle hinders our ability to comprehensively study a subject as groups are missing from the conversation.
What Can You Do?
The good news is you can use your citations as an act of activism by going the extra mile to include sources written by members of underrepresented groups. There are several resources listed on the right for finding diverse scholars with expertise and published works spanning many academic disciplines.
Want to work against privilege in access to information as well? Try including citations to works that have been published in open access journals! Open Educational Resources (OER) provide scholarly articles and high quality information without the paywall so that everyone can access the information. Try searching in an OER database listed in this guide.