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Citation etiquette: Is it appropriate to cite a paper you have not fully read?
Paper Discussion
In large‑scale literature surveys you encounter dozens of references. Sometimes you read abstract but skip full‑text. This raises etiquette questions. Under what conditions is citing a paper you have not fully read acceptable academic practice?
Mateo, Maverick and 4 others4 Comments-
If you only rely on abstract, do not make strong critical claims about full‑paper conclusions.
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When your argument directly depends on that work’s core finding, full‑text reading becomes mandatory.
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Secondary citing via other people’s review papers should be kept to minimum.
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For survey‑overview context‑setting purposes abstract‑level understanding can suffice.
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