Article,

Persistence of Web References in Scientific Research

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Persistence of Web References in Scientific Research, 34 (2): 26--31 (2001)

Abstract

The web has greatly improved the accessibility of scientific information, however the role of the web in formal scientific publishing has been debated. Some argue that the lack of persistence of web resources means that they should not be cited in scientific research. We analyze references to web resources in computer science publications, finding that the number of web references has increased dramatically in the last few years, and that many of these references are now invalid. We also find that most invalid web references can be relocated easily. We argue that, while formal references to published articles should always be used when possible, web references help to improve communication and progress in science. However, citation practices need to be improved to minimize future loss. We provide recommended practices for citing web resources, and discuss methods for relocating invalid references.

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