The latest academic working research paper entitled "Men set their own cites high: Gender and self-citation across fields and over time" led by Stanford University's Molly M. King and her colleagues checks into the inner workings of self-citation in university subjects. The initial results did not surprise them at all: it [self-citation] is commonly practiced by men.

From a dataset of 1.5 million scholarly books published by JSTOR (a digital library of academic titles) between 1779-2011, 10% of the total references were self-references by a paper's authors. And, in the entire 1779-2011 year range, men cite their own works 56% more than women do, Cornell University Lib  stated.

Across universities and even in the social media domain, self-citation has been practiced. Although it has generally been diminished by many scholars and strict academics as a mere act of egotism, self-advertising and eventual narcissism, still, some experts believe it is a significant indication that studies do not cease after publication, Scientific America stated.

It has often been quoted that the legal rights to a study, despite academics' scholarly discourse, cannot ever be contained in a single publishing.

A particular thought is said to grow and evolve from time to time and thus requires constant citations from any previous works, own work included. Hence, it is aptly fair for any author to cite one's previous work to support his/her advancements on an academic subject.

As per issue centering gender sensitivities, a set of inquiries shall have to be arrayed separately. What the study aims to prove is the significance of the results in measuring scholarly visibility and the consequences for academic careers, Cornell University Lib again stated.

In a separate lens, the study's results may hint the general academic society of the truth on women's under-representation on college faculties, Washington Post reported.

Perhaps, with the facts acknowledged and needs addressed, it would be safe to hope that fair and equitable academic opportunities will be at arm's reach in the future.