Can a source be cited just to substantiate a claim, without specifically mentioning the author or the content?
For example, if I make the claim:
"there are experts in the field that think X is fascinating."
and if I insert a footnote source, like this:
"there are experts in the field that think this way[1]."
Footnote [1]: Author, Date, Title: X might be interesting, Publisher etc.
Would this be wrong? Or should I always cite the author even when I don't directly cite the work or any of its content, but use it only to substantiate a claim.
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1 answer
Using footnotes to substantiate claims of fact by reference to published sources is a common and accepted practice. However, it is more common in academic work, or in popular works that pretend to academic rigor. In popular work it is not common to footnote every claim of fact, but if you say something new or controversial than it is more common to cite your sources explicitly in the text.
In fact, it has become quite common in the works of popular journalists like Malcolm Gladwell, not only to cite the source, but to tell the story of the research that discovered the fact being asserted. This kind of storytelling is interesting in itself (people love stories) and it helps fill out what would otherwise be no more than a sunday feature length piece to book length. It can also help to make the fact more memorable, if the reader gets not just the assertion of the fact but the whole story of the research that led up to the discovery of the fact.
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