How Many References Do You Really Need for a Dissertation?

[Donald James]

So I was recently looking up how many references for a dissertation and honestly, the answers are all over the place. Some people say it depends on word count, others say it’s all about quality over quantity. It made me curious—what do you think matters more, hitting a “safe” number of references or making sure every single one is genuinely relevant? Would love to hear how you approached it (or how you’re planning to).