Resources
Citation Index Databases
A citation index is a database specialising in citation tracking. Citation tracking allows the user to trace the impact a particular source has had on the scholarship by noting who has cited it and how often it has been cited. Many scholars use this method to determine the credibility of a work. References are also indexed which can be useful for establishing the origins of a theory. Researchers use citation indexes to identify the most authoritative authors and seminal works within a subject field. No single citation index database covers all works that cite other works. You will need to search several databases for maximum coverage. The two core citation index databases are:Several other discipline specific databases provide citation information. This list is constantly evolving and should be checked regularly for new additions. From within each database look for the Cited Reference or Reference search option.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar contains citation tracking data but the information needs to be verified by other sources as the quality control of the data is not as rigorous as that done by subscribed sources. Google Scholar is useful for tracing books, book chapters, reports, conference proceedings and theses.Further information about citation tracking is available within the Measuring Research Impact > Citation Tracking section of Research Resources.
For assistance contact the Research Services Librarian
