They may also have to disclose potentially valuable discoveries promptly to the patent official of the organization sponsoring the research. Scientists working under such conditions may need to find other ways of exposing their work to professional scrutiny. Unclassified summaries of classified work can compensate for the lack of open scrutiny that allows the validation of results elsewhere in science. Properly structured visiting committees can examine proprietary or classified research while maintaining confidentiality. Conflicts over proper attribution can arise in any of these places.
Citations serve many purposes in a scientific paper.
They acknowledge the work of other scientists, direct the reader toward additional sources of information, acknowl- edge conflicts with other results, and provide support for the views expressed in the paper. More broadly, citations place a paper within its scientific context, relating it to the present state of scientific knowledge. Failure to cite the work of others can give rise to more than just hard feelings. Citations are part of the reward system of science. They are connected to funding decisions and to the future careers of researchers.