Accuracy of Citation Patterns in the Field of Systems Engineering: Benefits of MBSE

ABSTRACT Citation is an integral part of any research activity, allowing researchers to “stand on the shoulders of giants.” Under the pervasive assumption that reputable publication sources do not deal with faulty information, academic readers often accept referenced knowledge as a validated claim. However, this holds true only when the cited papers are accurately interpreted, free of preexisting biases or incomplete understanding of the overall context of the papers. This paper explores the status of citation accuracy in the field of Systems Engineering through examining one highly cited review article on the evidence supporting the existence of model‐based systems engineering (MBSE) benefits.