Some subscribers to Phys-L might be interested in a discussion-list
post "What's a Definitive Academic Reference?" [Hake (2011)].
The abstract reads:
**************************************************
ABSTRACT: In a post "Re: Ashamed it is physicists and not learning
scientists!" [Hake (2011) at <http://bit.ly/pRy0N3> (you can safely
ignore the warning) I argued for the use of "Definitive Academic
References" (DAR's) in Academic Discussion Lists (ADL's). PhysLrnR's
Noah Podolefsky responded (paraphrasing) "How can we provide DAR's
when we don't know what they are?"
Hundreds of examples of DAR's are in the REFERENCE lists of my posts
- see the OPEN! archives of AERA-L at <http://bit.ly/opwtVl>. With
some important exceptions my references are consistent with
recommendations in the Style Manuals of the AIP, APA, and CSE.
The exceptions are that my references: (a) recognize the invention of
the internet, (b) always include the TITLES (mini-abstracts) of
journal articles, and (c) do not waste space by specifying the
geographical locations of publishers - a relic of the pre-internet
age.
In fact, "PEdants for Definitive Academic References which Recognize
the Invention of the Internet (PEDARRII" was founded in a thus-far
failed attempt to make the above *exceptions* the *rule*. Should
anyone be sympathetic with that goal, I'd be glad to place her/his
name before the nominating committee as a potential "Honorary Member
of PEDARRII."
In a parting shot, Podolefsky implied that Einstein's 1905 paper "On
the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" <http://bit.ly/otpg5F>, which
contained no references, contradicted Latour's opinion that "A paper
that does not have references is like a child without an escort
walking at night in a big city it does not know: isolated, lost,
anything may happen to it." Just as Latour said, "anything may happen
to it"! Einstein's (1905) masterpiece set forth the revolutionary
"special theory of relativity" <http://bit.ly/ndUcM6>. Similarly some
children left alone at night in big cities have become hedge-fund
managers and made billions per year <http://bit.ly/qXg3I8>!
**************************************************
REFERENCES [URL's shortened by <http://bit.ly/> and accessed on 27 July 2011.]
Hake, R.R. 2011."What's a Definitive Academic Reference?" online on
the OPEN! AERA-L archives at <http://bit.ly/ocKe2C>. Post of 27 Jul
2011 17:20:53-0700 to AERA-L and Net-Gold. The abstract and link to
the complete post are being transmitted to various discussion lists.
and are also on my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/o9geuq>
with a provision for comments.