Citation Justice

 
Or Knowledge Justice Or Epistemic Justice
   I was searching for a book and encountered this screen, where a reasonable question is asked. It is also a good thing to do some re-thinking from time-to-time. I had a quick look at the Open Resource, which led me to a brief consideration of "Citation Justice" and to reading a bit about it. 
   The basic notion seems to be that we need to pay much more attention to the identity of the person behind the citation, than the quality of it. The evaluation of citations should be identity-based, rather than evidence-based. That summary, coming from a guy who has read a bit, should not satisfy you. I will not consider citation politics further, but there is no reason why you shouldn't re-think your research methods. Here are some suggestions.

The Proselytizers

Start with, "Whose Knowledge Counts?... from the Western Libraries. 
  Other Canadian libraries are clearly on-board. A quick search indicated that "Citation Justice" is "hot topic" among librarians.
UBC - Citation Justice
"Citation justice is the process of being intentional about who you cite in your own work to uplift and center gender-diverse, Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, S2LGBTQIA+ folxs."
UVIC - A Critical Look at Citation Practices
"Critical citation or "Citation Justice is the act of citing authors based on identity to uplift marginalized voices with the knowledge that citation is used as a form of power in a patriarchal society based on white supremacy."
McGill - Citation Justice in STEMM
 "Citation justice involves intentionally acknowledging and citing the work of researchers from underrepresented groups. Research indicates that women, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPoC) scholars are cited less frequently than their white, male counterparts (Dworkin et al., 2020; Kozlowski et al, 2022). In science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine, practising citation justice means striving to equalize citation rates between white cis-male authors and those from diverse backgrounds and identities."
University of Toronto - Thinking Critically About Citations
  [This guide from the flagship is the most thorough. If you are only concerned about the justice part see the section - "Considering Your Positionality."]

Some Critics
   It take not take long to determine that some are questioning the emphasis on author identity.

  "The Problem With “Citation Justice”: A Seemingly Noble Ambition Excessively Politicises Scholarship," Freddie Attenborough, The Critic, Aug. 26, 2025

  "America’s Boston University has just introduced a “Citation Justice Pledge”, encouraging students and staff to “commit to intentionally uplifting and centering” the work of “authors who are Black, Indigenous, persons of color, of varied abilities [aren’t we all?], and part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community”. Those who sign the pledge are invited to attend workshops on diversifying reference sources. They also receive branded tote bags and stickers.

   Although presented as voluntary, the pledge has renewed concerns about a shift in higher education towards a form of soft (or not so soft) compulsion. What begins as an effort to do the right thing — in this case, broadening academic reference points — can easily become a de facto political litmus test, displacing genuine scholarship in favour of identity politics."

"When ‘Diverse Citations’ Replace Diverse Ideas," Erin Shaw, Oct. 20,2025, Heterodox Academy

  "Within academia, a new metric of “diversity” may be gaining traction—not in admissions, faculty hiring, or funding, but in the references of research. Nature Reviews Psychology shared their new journal guidelines on “citation diversity statements” in which authors should “draw attention to citation imbalances” among scientists from different demographic backgrounds, and “confirm that they made efforts to cite publications from a diverse group of researchers.” Unfortunately, citation diversity statements reduce scholars to statistics, threaten academic rigor, and add yet another ideologically conformist hoop for academics to jump through."

  It seems to me that there are clearly occasions when the identity of an author matters, but that it is only one variable to be considered. Discernment should be fostered rather than diversity preached.

   I used to work in libraries before they were makerspaces and often noticed the eagerness with which new ideas, resources, etc. were embraced. Also in libraries was the OED, which now may just be provided electronically. In it one will find two words that are useful:

"Neophiliacs"

"Neophiliacs suffer from a collective fantasy which leads them to describe every change as inevitable and an improvement on what preceded it."

Daily Telegraph,1991

"Neophiliacs will want to grok both books."

New York Times 8 October
  According to AI, this is what that sentence means:

"The sentence suggests that people who love novelty (neophiliacs) will want to deeply understand ("grok") the contents of both books, which offer contrasting views on computer jargon."
 [ I suppose determining the identity behind AI will be difficult. In any case "grok" the librarian links and the critical articles, and be sure to vet your citations.]
"Bandwagon"

"We tell the whig leaders, with their four band wagons, their foreign silk flags, and their Giraffes, that the days of humbuggery have gone by."

Ohio Democrat (New Philadelphia, Ohio) 15 September

"When I once became sure of one majority they tumbled over each other to get aboard the band wagon."

T. Roosevelt, Letter 28 April (1951) vol. II. 999

"He has blown with every wind; he has bandwagoned with every passing movement." Eugene (Oregon) Register-Guard 25 April 6/1

"What about the bandwagoners who are prone to jumping on the latest thing without really thinking it through?"

Xtra! West (Vancouver) 15 September 21/2