How to search for citations , Te ara hei rapu kupu hautoa

Searching backwards and forwards

Citation searching allows you to search backwards or forwards in your research area’s published literature, starting from a known reference to a book or journal article.

Searching backwards means using reference lists or an article’s bibliography to find other relevant literature. It lets you see who the authors of a book or article cited in researching their work.

You can search forward using database features that help you locate new articles that cite a particular book or article.

When to citation search

Citation searching:

• can give you relevant results from a different perspective
• is best used to enhance subject searching results
• works best if your known reference is of high quality, by leaders in the field and highly relevant to the topic you are researching
• allows you to trace discussion and argument leading up to the publication of your chosen work and beyond it
• is not the same as searching for articles by an author.

‘Citation searching: using one article as a starting point’

How to search for citations

Most article databases allow you to trace backwards to see who an author or group of authors cited in researching their work. Search for your article and look for the reference list or bibliography associated with that article.

Many article databases and journal publishers’ websites allow you to search forwards to find citations of a work. Look for a feature called:

• Cited by
• Times cited in this database
• Citations
• something similar.

Example of Times cited in this database feature:

Google Scholar

Search for your original article in Google Scholar and look for Cited by.

Scopus

Search for your original article in Scopus and look for Cited by.