InfoSkills voor Bestuurskunde

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.

In Google Scholar

Google Scholar supports only forward citation searching. To begin a citation search, select a relevant item 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 Web of Science database ➌, simply click on the corresponding link.
Clicking on " Clicking on Related articles ➋ generates a list of articles related to the selected record, based on a combination of citation analysis (including shared references) and content similarity. This feature helps you broaden your literature search and discover relevant articles you might not have found otherwise.

Citation information from Scite.ai

Recently, Google Scholar has integrated Scite.ai citation badges, which appear below search results to provide additional citation context.

These badges use AI to analyze how scholarly articles are cited and categorize each citation as supported, mentioned, or contrasted. Clicking a badge takes you to Scite.ai, where you can see a detailed breakdown of the citations.

Scite.ai's citation information helps you evaluate the quality and reliability of scholarly articles by showing not only how often they're cited, but also the context in which each citation occurs. This makes it easier to see which findings are well-supported and which are challenged or questioned. When you're building an argument for your course assignment, it simplifies finding robust research and understanding how different studies relate to each other.

Google Scholar counts all citations – positive, neutral, and negative – toward an article’s total. This means that even if an article is cited to criticize its methods, challenge its findings, or point out flaws, the citation still adds to the overall count.

Please note To view the badges in Google Scholar, you need to install the Library Access extension.

In the Web of Science database

Some academic databases, such as Scopus and Web of Science, support both forward and backward citation searching. The TiU library provides access to Web of Science, which is particularly well-suited for forward citation searching. In Web of Science, the "Cited References Search" allows users to search for all publications that cite a specific work, even if the reference contains variations or errors. In addition, Web of Science offers a faster and more user-friendly approach, much like Google Scholar.

A forward citation search is as simple as in Google Scholar: search for your topic, select a relevant result, and click on "Citations" ➊ next to it. Unlike Google Scholar, Web of Science also offers backward citation searching, which allows you to view and explore the full list of references cited by a particular article. This is possible because Web of Science systematically indexes the reference lists of all the publications it includes. 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.