Eli5: Why are reference styles so pedantic?

Question

I understand the idea of giving people credit for their work, absolutely reasonable

But let’s say APA and Harvard have a different style for references is there any real advantage of one over the other and why are both so specific with formatting

In: 3

Answer 1

I think they’re specific so you can be concise. If we know it ALWAYS goes Author, Year, Title, Publisher. you don’t need to put ‘Author: Jones. Published 2010. Title: John Smith (2013). Published by Bloggs.’

Even in ambiguous cases Jones (2010), *‘John Smith (2013)’* Bloggs

is entirely clear as long as we stick to the standard.

It also helps in the modern era with searching and indexing large archives etc