The cite cycle

Citation databases allow you to see:

• who is citing a work (forward citation) 
• who has cited a work in their reference list (backward citation).

The cite cycle (forward and backwards citations) shows how research progresses and citations generated are one way to measure an author’s impact. The two largest citation databases are:

Learn more about coverage

To see all the indexes the Library subscribes to in Web of Science:

• Open the database
• Look under Collections: All (top of search box)

Search for a publication title and open the record to find:

• Cited by counts (forward citations)
• References (backward citations)

The example below shows you where to find these. Hover over the + to see an explanation.

Search for a publication title and open the record to find:

• Citations (forward citations)
• Cited references (backward citations)

The example below shows you where to find these. Hover over the + to see an explanation.

Why a publication has attracted large numbers of citations. Is this because other researchers are questioning the methods or findings?

Higher citations does not always = good quality.

Both Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection allow you to set up an email alert to automatically notify you when a publication has attracted new citations within the database.

To do this select:

• Set citation alert in the publication record in Scopus
• Create citation alert in the publication record in Web of Science

Follow the prompts to create your alert. Please note you must be signed into either database using your personal account to use this option.

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