 |
Cited Reference Searching: Tools U Can Use
Cited reference searching is often overlooked and underexploited as a method of searching. While commonly used to assess the research impact of scholars, it also provides a method of tracing how later research has used, built upon or refuted earlier research. In addition, it can be a handy method for finding research materials similar to a known item when other methods of searching prove fruitless. It accomplishes these tasks by searching the bibliographies of articles for a known reference of particular interest. Once almost the sole domain of citation indexes from ISI’s Web of Science, cited reference searching has now become possible using a number of new search tools. Web of Science, with its significantly deep archives of journal literature extending back to 1945, and pan-subject content including all the academic disciplines, often still provides impressive results. However, those results are generally far from comprehensive (e.g. results in science are still far stronger than social sciences and humanities) and should be supplemented with results from other search tools such as Scopus and Google Scholar. Scopus emerged in 2004 as a new proprietary international citation index covering a broader range of journals than Web of Science (15,000 vs. 9,300), with broader geographic coverage that extends to developing countries. However, its backfiles that extend to 1996 are not as deep and its strength lies predominantly in physical/life sciences and biomedical information. A number of subject-specific databases also provide cited reference searching capabilities. For example, see the “cited by” links in results lists for Sociological Abstracts, PsycInfo and Business Source Premier. A new major player in cited reference searching is Google. Although its “cited by” numbers have been accused of being inflated, Google Scholar has become a very useful tool for tracking cited references and is freely available. Its journal coverage remains unknown (Google will not release its title list) but testing suggests that its coverage of arts, humanities and social sciences is greater than other tools, and that it does a better job of covering international non-English journal titles, in addition to conference papers, reports and the contents of digital repositories. Moreover, Harzing’s Publish or Perish is free software that facilitates more full and easy exploitation of Google Scholar cited reference data and provides myriad metrics for analyzing the impact of a particular article. It is now also possible to find cited references to articles found in books. This is due to the full-text searching capability of tools such as Google Books. Entering a few key title and author words for a cited reference can reveal books where those cited references appear. Cited reference data also provides the basis for multiple metrics that measure the relative impact of an author or a particular journal. For example, the h-index or g-index purport to measure an academic’s impact, taking into account the quantity and quality of his/her published research. See Harzing’s Publish or Perish for a brief description and discussion of metrics. Journal Citation Reports provides numerous ranking indicators for journals within particular fields of study so that the ‘major’ journals in a field can be easily identified. These metrics are controversial and do not necessarily give an accurate picture of the impact or usefulness of a particular journal or the research output of a particular scholar. For a good overview of the problematic aspects of citation data, see: Cameron, Brian D. (2005). Trends in the usage of ISI bibliometric data: Uses, abuses, and implications. portal: Libraries and the Academy 5(1), 105-125. More information and assistance For more information about using these tools, see York University Libraries’ Guide to Cited Reference Searching. For a comparison of the content and coverage available in Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar, see the associated chart. Help is always available at the Libraries’ reference desks or contact one of the following librarians: Sophie Bury (Business) |
|
Allan Robb Fleming was Canada’s greatest graphic designer during the late 20th century. Thirty years after his death in 1977, his mark on Canadian society endures through symbols for Canadian National Railways, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Ontario Science Centre, and award-winning book designs. His correspondence, research files, photographs, and drawings were donated by his children to York in 2008, and are now available for research. This gift led to donations by other Canadian designers, and to discussions with Professors David Scadding and Brian Donnelly to establish the Canadian Design Archives at York University Libraries so that faculty and students can explore the social and economic impact of this profession. Special Collections News: Collaboration with faculty also played a key role in the acquisition of rare books from the library of Dr. Clarence B. Farrar (1874-1970), chief psychiatrist of the Canadian Army during World War I and Director of the Toronto Psychiatric Hospital from 1925 to 1947. A long list of works on psychiatry, medicine and spiritualism was reviewed the Libraries’ subject specialists and by Professor Christopher Green and graduate student Jennifer Bazar of the Department of Psychology, which led to the addition of more than 60 volumes to Special Collections.
|
