Tracking the Progression of Scholarship
By identifying an important article in a discipline, the reader can trace the (earlier) sources that the author used in his/her scholarship by checking the article's bibliography (references). In addition, the reader may be able to identify subsequent articles, which have the target article listed within their bibliographies.
Citing References = Citing Articles = Cited By = Times Cited = Tracking Who has Cited a Given Article
"Times Cited" answers the question: 'in the time that has elapsed since its publication, how many authors have referred to a particular (target) article in the 'works cited' (i.e. bibliography or references) section of their own publication?'
By discovering the various authors who have referred back to a specific (target) article, the reader may follow the subsequent development of ideas and concepts within a field of study. Furthermore, articles which have been frequently may be presumed to have been (and continue to be) influential.
Unfortunately, the terminology used to describe this concept varies: "cited by," "times cited in this database," "cited references," and "citation indexing" are terms that may be used for this function. Even more confusing is the fact that the term "cited references" is sometimes also used to refer to the works cited (i.e. bibliography, references) by the target article.
See the guide linked below for more information on cited references.
Where should I look to find articles which have cited my target article?
- Cited References: Tracking Who Cited a Particular PublicationA guide to Sawyer Library resources which support 'cited by' searches.
- PsycINFO This link opens in a new windowProduced by the American Psychological Association (APA). The largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. It contains records and summaries dating as far back as the 1600s and includes journal coverage from the 1800s to present.
EBSCOhost's PsycInfo and the term "Cited References"
Unfortunately, PsycINFO (as well as the other EBSCO databases) is inconsistent in the use of the term "Cited References."
In the screenshot above, "Cited References" refers to the articles listed within the bibliography of the article "A Tale of Two Sites: Twitter vs. Facebook and the Personality Predictors of Social Media Usage."
In the screenshots below, the "Cited References" option will lead to a two-step search process: 1) Identify a target article. 2) Find out if the target article has been cited in subsequent publications contained within PsycINFO.
First: Run a search for the target article.
Second: Once all versions of the target article have been selected, then click 'Find Citing Articles.'
The final results are a list of the citing articles, which by definition, have all been published in the time since the appearance of "A Tale of Two Sites."
(Note the inconsistent use of the wording 'Cited References.')