Abstract Prior research on miscitations in academic literatures have painted a dismal picture of high rates of inaccuracy. While this issue and the problems that stem from inaccurate citations have been reviewed, the attention given to the causes of such inaccuracies has so far been narrow. The primary rationale given for citation errors is author lack of motivation. In the current manuscript, we suggest that examining the potential for cognitive biases to also contribute to miscitations can add conceptual nuance to this question as well as provide additional recommendations for practice. We argue that even when authors are motivated to cite research correctly, that the cognitive biases of source confusion, gist memory, and repetition effects may lead to miscitations. We explore these ideas with a systematic review of over 1400 papers in which we found that the rates of miscitation are high (44.8%). Additionally, evidence from the review provides some support that cognitive biases may produce miscitations. Recommendations to authors, reviewers, and editors are provided.

Marcia J. Simmering

Christie M. Fuller

Stephanie R. Leonard

Vanessa R. Simmering

Applied Psychology

Applied Psychology: An International Review is the official journal of the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP), the oldest worldwide association of scholars and practitioners of the discipline of psychology (founded in 1920).    Applied Psychology: An International Review is a peer-reviewed, truly international outlet for the scholarly dissemination of findings in applied psychology. Articles are encouraged from all areas of applied psychology including, but not limited to, organizational, cross-cultural, educational, health, counseling, sport and environmental psychology.

Applied Psychology: An International Review is the official journal of the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP), the oldest worldwide association of scholars and practitioners in the field of psychology, founded in 1920. This peer-reviewed journal serves as a truly international platform for the scholarly dissemination of findings in applied psychology. We encourage submissions from all areas of applied psychology, including but not limited to organizational, cross-cultural, educational, health, counseling, sport, and environmental psychology.

《Applied Psychology: An International Review》是国际应用心理学协会（IAAP）的官方期刊，该协会是心理学学者和从业者的全球最古老协会，成立于1920年。《Applied Psychology: An International Review》是一个经过同行评审的国际性期刊，致力于学术成果在应用心理学领域的传播。我们欢迎来自应用心理学各个领域的文章，包括但不限于组织心理学、跨文化心理学、教育心理学、健康心理学、咨询心理学、运动心理学和环境心理学。

Category	Quartile
心理学	2
心理学, 心理学应用	2

Cognitive biases and research miscitations

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Journal Info

Category	Quartile
PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED	1