Misuse of anecdotes in primatology: lessons from citation analysis
This study analyzes the accuracy of anecdotes cited in behavioral primatology publications. Anecdotes (n = 1 cases) recounting tool use were sought in the four main primatological journals. Citations of anecdotes in the scientific literature that met three criteria were systematically coded for reco...
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Published in | American journal of primatology Vol. 65; no. 3; pp. 283 - 288 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Hoboken
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
01.03.2005
Wiley-Liss |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | This study analyzes the accuracy of anecdotes cited in behavioral primatology publications. Anecdotes (n = 1 cases) recounting tool use were sought in the four main primatological journals. Citations of anecdotes in the scientific literature that met three criteria were systematically coded for recognition and accuracy. The results showed that 60% of the time, authors who cited anecdotes did not explicitly acknowledge them as such. To a lesser extent, the citations exaggerated the frequency of anecdotal events or misrepresented their status. For tool use specifically, the actor was misreported more often than the tool or its target. Multiple citations were incorrect more often than single citations. Overall, it seems that citation of anecdotes is problematic and may have far‐reaching implications in terms of misleading overgeneralizations. Primatologists should take care in citing singular or rare events. Am. J. Primatol. 65:283–288, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. |
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Bibliography: | istex:9C4C43D8BF2A72CBA8AC8369C98856DF9D0F950B Miami University ark:/67375/WNG-460RX899-3 ArticleID:AJP20115 ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 |
ISSN: | 0275-2565 1098-2345 |
DOI: | 10.1002/ajp.20115 |