InfoSkills for Social and Behavioral Sciences

What do we mean by "citation"?

In Module A, we explored citation as the practice of citing sources. However, citation can also have a more specific meaning: a reference to a particular source. It is this narrower definition that we use in this context. 

In-text citations and full citations
In academic writing, two types of citations are used: in-text citations and full citations. 

• In-text citations are brief references included within the body of a text, placed directly after a mention of a source. They indicate that specific information, ideas, or evidence has been taken from another source. 
• Full citations – also known as references – provide all the necessary details about a source, such as the author(s), title, publication date, publisher, and more. These details enable readers to locate and verify the original source. Every in-text citation must have a corresponding full citation. Full citations are compiled in a list at the end of the document, typically under a heading such as References, Bibliography, or Works Cited. 

Understanding citation searching

Citation searching is a valuable search method to use once you have found a key publication – a source that is particularly relevant or influential for your topic. Rather than beginning your research from scratch, you can use this known work as a starting point to discover additional useful literature.

Backward and forward citation searching
Citation searching involves two main approaches: backward and forward searching.

• Backward citation searching, also known as snowballing, involves examining the reference list at the end of your key publication to identify other relevant sources it cites. These cited publications are earlier works that the key publication used to build its ideas and support its findings. 
• Forward citation searching means identifying works that cite your key publication. These citing publications are newer works that build upon or respond to the key publication’s findings. They include the key publication in their reference lists.

The graph below visualizes how the key publication is connected to the publication it cites and to the publications that cite it.

Citation searching in practice

• In Google Scholar

  Google Scholar supports only forward citation searching. To begin, select a relevant entry from your search results.

  

  By clicking on the "Cited by" ➊ link, you’ll see a list of publications in Google Scholar that cite your key publication. To find citing articles in the library database Web of Science ➌, simply click on the corresponding link. Clicking on "Related articles" ➋ provides a list of articles ranked according to how many references they share. This ranking is based on the idea that articles citing many of the same sources are likely to cover similar topics.

• In a library database
  Most academic databases support both forward and backward citation searching. Web of Science is particularly well-suited for forward citation searching, offering a dedicated Cited References Search to find publications that have cited a specific work. In addition, it provides a quicker and more straightforward method, similar to those found in other research databases. Simply search for your topic and choose a result that seems relevant.  

  

  Click on the citation count ➊ next to the result to view a list of publications that have cited it. To perform a backward citation search, click on References ➋ to view the sources cited by the publication. Similar to Google Scholar, Web of Science also includes a Related records ➌ link, which identifies publications that share one or more references with the selected entry, helping you find research on related topics.