ActiveCite: An interactive system for automatic citation suggestion

Abstract

Citations are very important in academic writing as they support the ideas presented in a work. Many authors use citation software to insert citations while they are writing.

To be able to insert citations using current software, authors must specify the references they wish to cite or search online to find appropriate sources. The process is often tedious and disrupts the writing flow.

The goal of our software prototype, ActiveCite, is to minimize the disruption caused by inserting citations so that authors can concentrate on writing. It uses the existing text in the document to provide a framework for searching and suggesting citations and integrating them into the work.

ActiveCite¿s interface features breadcrumbs and previews that allow users to easily switch back and forth between citation and writing. ActiveCite also includes a shorthand notation for passing contextual information to the back-end system. It uses partial information from the document for known-item citations and can suggest citations using subject search.

The results of the user study we conducted confirms ActiveCite¿s usability and its potential as a helpful and intuitive tool to support academic writing.