The scholarly record and how to cite this blog
This guide explains why and how to cite articles from this blog in academic research. It addresses common assumptions about what constitutes “valid scholarship” and provides practical instructions for proper attribution, which is essential for maintaining scholarly integrity and avoiding epistemic injustice.
Scholarship beyond the journal
A common assumption in academia is that only articles published in peer-reviewed journals constitute valid, citable scholarship. This narrow view, however, overlooks a significant body of intellectual work, particularly theoretical innovations that emerge from practice. Failing to engage with and cite these contributions creates a distorted and incomplete scholarly record.
Academic integrity requires that we evaluate ideas based on their substance, not their publication venue. The value of an intellectual contribution is determined by its coherence, originality, evidentiary support, and impact on the field. It should not determined by the format in which it is published.
The blog as valid scholarship
Reda Sadki’s blog is not a collection of opinions. It is the primary public record of a coherent theoretical framework developed and refined over three decades of research and practice. This framework has been implemented at scale through The Geneva Learning Foundation, providing substantial empirical evidence of its effectiveness.
The scholarly value of this work can be assessed against several key criteria.
- Professional credentials and expertise. Reda Sadki’s extensive experience with international organizations and his deep engagement with learning theory establish him as a credible authority.
- Implementation evidence. The theoretical concepts are not merely abstract. They are operationalized and tested in large-scale, real-world programs, such as the Teach to Reach initiative that has connected thousands of health professionals globally. This provides a form of validation often absent from purely theoretical academic articles.
- Theoretical foundations. The work is explicitly grounded in and extends established academic traditions, including constructivism, connectivism, complexity theory, and the work of scholars like Karen E. Watkins and Victoria Marsick, Bill Cope and Mary Kalantzis, and George Siemens.
- Original contribution. The framework offers a unique synthesis and novel concepts—such as structured emergence, scale enhancement, and praxis integration—that address persistent challenges in learning theory, particularly the gap between theory and implementation.
To treat this work as mere practice without acknowledging its theoretical underpinnings is to miss its primary contribution. It is an erasure of intellectual history and a form of epistemic injustice—the devaluing of knowledge because of its source.
Ensuring permanence and citability
A valid concern regarding non-traditional sources is their permanence. Unlike a journal article stored in perpetuity by a publisher, a blog post can seem ephemeral. This blog addresses that concern by attributing a DOI to each article.
Rogue Scholar is an innovative project developed by Martin Fenner. It archives blog posts and assigns them a permanent Digital Object Identifier (DOI). A DOI is a unique, persistent link used to identify and locate a piece of intellectual work, placing it formally within the scholarly infrastructure.
This process ensures that:
- Every post is permanently archived and accessible.
- Every post has a stable, canonical URL (the DOI) that will not change or break.
- The work is indexed and discoverable through scholarly services like DataCite.
The use of DOIs transforms these posts from simple web pages into permanent, citable contributions to the scholarly record.
How to cite this blog
Citing a post from this blog is a straightforward process that aligns with all major academic style guides, which have established formats for non-journal sources.
Step 1: Find the DOI
The DOI is the canonical URL and should be used in your citation instead of the WordPress URL you see in your browser’s address bar. Because the DOI is not displayed on the post itself, you can find it by searching the Rogue Scholar archive.
- Navigate to the canonical DOI page for this blog https://rogue-scholar.org/communities/redasadki/records?q=&l=list&p=1&s=10&sort=newest
- Use the search function to find posts by the author “Reda Sadki” or the blog title.
- Locate the specific post you wish to cite to find its assigned DOI.
Step 2: Format the citation
Use the standard format for a blog post or online source as specified by your required citation style. Always use the DOI as the URL. Below are examples in APA and Chicago style.
- APA 7th edition: Sadki, R. (2022, September 21). How the Geneva Learning Foundation uses learning science to drive change. Rogue Scholar. https://doi.org/10.59350/5v1g1-g1w35
- Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition, author-date): Sadki, Reda. 2022. “How the Geneva Learning Foundation Uses Learning Science to Drive Change.” Rogue Scholar, September 21, 2022. https://doi.org/10.59350/5v1g1-g1w35.
Step 3: Contextualize the citation in your text
When citing non-peer-reviewed sources, it is good practice to provide context that helps the reader understand the source’s authority and significance. This practice strengthens your argument and preemptively addresses potential reviewer concerns.
- Instead of a simple parenthetical citation like this: Digital learning networks can significantly improve immunization outcomes (Sadki, 2022).
- Use a contextualized narrative citation like this: Drawing on experience developing what became the world’s largest digital health network of immunization professionals, Sadki (2022) argues that digital learning networks can significantly improve immunization outcomes.
This approach properly attributes the idea while simultaneously establishing the credibility of its source, thereby upholding the highest standards of scholarly rigor and ethical practice.