Research Guides: Course Guide for ENGR 361: Cited Reference Searching

Background

"Cited Reference Searching" is basically finding articles that "cite" the source article in its references. Or put another way this enables you to determine approximately how many times an author or a specific publication has been cited by other authors. It is a way to evaluate the impact of an article or author and also a way to do some "forward" searching on a topic. For a long time, cited reference searching was only available in Web of Science. It still remains the 'gold standard' and most researchers use the metrics in WoS to support their scholarly research and to apply for funding. However, there are now many more tools available. Many other databases provide cited reference searching capabilities - see links below – including Google Scholar

Results will vary when you search for the same item in different databases with Google Scholar giving you more hits since it is searching the Internet.

Web of Science Provides access to high-quality research from the world's leading arts, humanities, science and social science journals. Includes a Cited Reference search. Online coverage is 1993-present. Earlier print versions are in the library.
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
IEEE Xplore Use IEEE Xplore to access the full text of IEEE journals, magazines, standards, and conference proceedings. Full text is available for most content from 1988 to present. Covers 1950 to the present. IEEE Xplore allows up to five simultaneous users.
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Compendex (via Engineering Village) Over 7 million citations and abstracts to journal articles, conference proceedings, and technical reports on all aspects of engineering including civil, computer, mechanical, material, aerospace, electronic, communication, transportation and more. Coverage: 1969 to present.
- This link opens in a new window
APA PsycINFO Contains abstracts and bibliographic citations for the contents of thousands of journals. Also includes references to dissertations, media, and books. Coverage: 1887 to present. Updated quarterly.
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window

Cited Reference Searching in Web of Science

In Web of Science, "Begin" your search.

Searching by author you can find all of their articles, and the number of times each article has been cited. You can then view those citations as well.

By searching a specific article you will find all the articles that have cited that article. Within your results, sort by "Times Cited" This will bring the articles most often cited to the top of the list.

You can also search using the "Cited Reference Search" option by searching author or cited work. You will see the number of "citing articles." Select article or articles and click "Finish". You will see the articles that cited the article(s) that you are interested in. To confirm: click on the title and review the "Cited References list."

Click Create Citation Report to see a graph by year. This can also help help you determine the importance of the article, and the research it reports, by finding how often it has been cited each year and more.

(Thanks to my colleague Cathy Outten for this description)

Web of Science Provides access to high-quality research from the world's leading arts, humanities, science and social science journals. Includes a Cited Reference search. Online coverage is 1993-present. Earlier print versions are in the library.
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window

Cited Reference Searching in Google Scholar

You can search by author, title of item, keywords.. Just like in Google, there is a "Advanced Search."

Conduct your search and then look for the "Cited by" link underneath the record.

Google Scholar search tips

Cited Reference Searching in Google Scholar video