Citation Tracking / Citation Analysis
Citation analysis, also called citation tracking or cited reference searching, is a way of measuring the relative importance or impact or an author, article, or publication, by counting the number of times that author, article, or publication has been cited by other works.
There are a number of tools available; however, no single database covers all works that cite other works. Searching across several databases is necessary to ensure complete coverage.
Tools for Conducting Citation Analysis
NOTE: Some databases require a subscription; SJSU has subscriptions to the following databases.
Captures a wide variety of publication types (e.g., journal articles, white papers, slides) in any language.
Search for the article or author
View the number of citations and publications that have cited the article
Scopus* is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and captures citations for select journal articles and book chapters. In this database, you can set up alerts for both articles and authors. View this tutorial on the process of doing citation research in Scopus for additional information.
Access Scopus at: https://libguides.sjsu.edu/az.php?a=s (log in with SJSU One Account if off-campus)
Search for an author or specific article
From the detailed page of the article, view the number of citations by other researchers
Web of Science is a core database for citation searching as it provides citation analysis of an author's work, supplying who is citing whom, when, and where. this database captures citations for select journal articles and book chapters. View this tutorial on the process of doing citation research in Web of Science for additional information.
Access Web of Science at: https://libguides.sjsu.edu/az.php?a=w (log in with SJSU One Account if off-campus)
Search for the article or author
From the detailed article information webpage, view the number of citations and where the article has been cited
How to Set Up Alerts to Keep Track of Who is Citing You
Set up alerts with the following tools/database to keep track of who is citing your work.
NOTE: Some databases require a subscription; SJSU has subscriptions to the following databases.
Captures a wide variety of publication types (e.g., journal articles, white papers, slides) in any language.
Sign up for a Google Scholar Citations account (https://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/citations.html). To track citations, you will need to make the profile public. Add all the documents you want to track citations for.
On your profile page, find the “Follow” box on the right. Click the “New citations to my articles” link and enter your preferred email address in the box that appears, then click “Done.”
Scopus* is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and captures citations for select journal articles and book chapters. In this database, you can set up alerts for both articles and authors.
Access Scopus at: https://libguides.sjsu.edu/az.php?a=s (log in with SJSU One Account if off-campus)
Register for a Scopus account by clicking on "Register" at the upper right of the screen
For an article alert -- Search for it and click on the title in your search results. From the Article Abstract screen, click on "Set Citation Alert"
For an author alert -- Search for the author and click on "Follow this Author"
Web of Science is a core database for citation searching as it provides citation analysis of an author's work, supplying who is citing whom, when, and where. this database captures citations for select journal articles and book chapters.
Access Web of Science at: https://libguides.sjsu.edu/az.php?a=w (log in with SJSU One Account if off-campus)
Register for a Web of Science account by clicking on "Sign In" at the upper right of the screen and then "Register"
Search for the article you want to keep track of and select "Create Citation Alert"
