Citation Chasing
A great way to conduct research on a topic is to see what sources have been cited in a worthwhile article or book, and then read up on that source or continue to see what was cited by that scholar. There are a few ways to go about citation chasing / tracking, so utilize any of the tips below to give it a shot!
This is also a great way to see how often-cited a source you've already found is, if you're trying to assess the impact of the work.
- SURF Catalog: When you see a source in the catalog with these symbols (
), they can be clicked on to show you either sources cited in the work itself or other papers that have cited the work you're starting with. It should appear at the bottom of an item's page in the catalog under the header "Citations":
- Web of Science: This is the main point of the database so it can be very helpful as a tool, especially because you can search by document or search by researcher. While technically covering many journals in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities, it doesn't have everything so be aware that this is not the only way!
- Google Scholar: This is a great tool to help you track down potential sources and evaluate their usefulness during citation chasing, especially the "cited by _" link which can show more that have used this in their research.
Article Databases: an A-Z List
You can search for databases by name or by subject.
Use SURF to Find Articles
You can filter your search in SURF to just Articles if you know what kind of source you need, isn't that helpful? You can select that filter yourself or use this nifty search box which is already set to only look for articles.
Databases
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Academic Search Ultimate This link opens in a new windowOffers access to an unprecedented collection of resources including journals, magazines, reports, books, and videos. Many are peer-reviewed and full-text. Subjects range from astronomy to zoology.
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JSTOR (including ARTSTOR) This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text access to a broad range of resources about the humanities, sciences, and social sciences, including primary sources, images, articles, and books. Does not contain the most recent journal articles.
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Social Sciences Abstracts This link opens in a new windowSU no longer subscribes to this resource. Due to overlap in content, we suggest searching the following resources instead: Academic Search Ultimate, JSTOR. Read more information about the 2025 library cancellation process.
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Statista This link opens in a new windowProvides data and infographics on over 60,000 topics from over 18,000 sources, categorized into 21 market sectors with quantitative data on media, business, finance, politics, and a wide variety of other areas.
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ProQuest Newspapers This link opens in a new windowIncludes the full text of these newspapers: The Baltimore Sun, Christian Science Monitor, New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal.
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Washington Post This link opens in a new windowIndexes, abstracts, and provides online full text for the Washington Post newspaper 1987-present.
Websites
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Pew Research Center
"Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research." Select the Project of your choice to view data. You may need to register, but it is free. -
Congress.gov
"Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information. The site provides access to accurate, timely, and complete legislative information for Members of Congress, legislative agencies, and the public. It is presented by the Library of Congress (LOC) using data from the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, the Government Publishing Office, Congressional Budget Office, and the LOC's Congressional Research Service."
