How to cite LessWrong as an academic source?

post by PhilosophicalSoul (LiamLaw) · 2024-11-06T08:28:26.309Z · LW · GW · No comments

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    3 AnthonyC
    3 avturchin
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Hi there.

Quick question. I am using a few articles from LessWrong for a dissertation. Are there any mainstream articles/sources that reference LessWrong as being the catalyst/partial source for AI alignment, researchers, and other academic literature? I think it's snobbish, or, discriminatory to regard LessWrong as merely another online website. I was hoping to get some advice on how to formulate a paragraph justifying the citation of LessWrong?

Thanks.

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answer by AnthonyC · 2024-11-06T13:08:51.710Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

I'm curious which kinds of posts you're looking to cite, for what kinds of use in a dissertation for what field. 

Looking over the site as a whole, different posts should (IMO) be regarded as akin to primary sources, news sources, non-peer-reviewed academic papers, whitepapers, symposia, textbook chapters, or professional sources, depending on the author and epidemic status.

In other words, this isn't "a site" for this purpose, it's a forum that hosts many kinds of content in a conveniently cross-referenceable format, some but not all of which is of a suitable standard for referencing for some but not all academic uses. This at least should be familiar to how your professors think about other kinds of citations. Someone might cite a doctor's published case study as part of the background research on some disease, or the NYT's publication of a summary of the pentagon papers in regards to the history of first amendment jurisprudence, or a corporate whitepaper or other report as a source of data about an industry.

answer by avturchin · 2024-11-06T12:51:43.408Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

I cited it as a blog. This option is available on Zotero.

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