Cited reference searching starts with a specific article, book, or other publication. Usually your first step is to find that publication in the database you are using. That may mean searching the title, but sometimes you'll use the author's name. Since citations for this publication can vary, expect the need to select from among variations or to perform multiple searches and combining the results.
Cited reference searching can aid in
Databases can locate publications that cite a given work so you can trace how that work is cited after its publication. Cited reference searching will not work well for recently published works; allow authors time to cite a work after it is published.
Search results will depend greatly on the database you use; if an article cites a given publication, but the journal that article is published in is not indexed by your chosen database, then that citation will not appear in your search results. No database (including Google Scholar) will index every publication; thus no database will ever give you a complete list of works citing a specified publication.
Different publications will cite the same article differently; you will need to search variations of your author's name and publication title to ensure the best search results. Inconsistencies or outright errors in publication years, volume, and issues should be expected. For some articles, only the first listed author will be indexed. Search by the lead author for best results.
Cited reference searching works best for journal articles, though book citations are beginning to be tracked more often.
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