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CHEM3322: Introduction to Inorganic Chemistry

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7. Find Related Articles

Citation Searching

In theory, authors cite an item because it is relevant to the topic of their own work. The original and best-known database for citation searching is Web of Science. Although other databases, including SciFinder,  have added this feature, their citation coverage is weak for older articles.

Web of Science retrieves far more citations for this older article than SciFinder does
Web of Science SciFinder
Web of Science search result for a 1984 article, cited 52 times. Citation link circled in red. SciFinder search result for the same 1984, cited only 14 times. The 2 citation links, 'Cited By' and 'Citation Map', are circled in red.

Tips:

  • Each library database covers a different range of journals, and citation search results will be limited to that collection of journals
  • Because there are many ways to incorrectly cite an article, a citation search is never 100% complete
  • Sometimes authors cite research to discuss problems with methods and/or conclusions
  • Keep in mind: social factors affect citation counts

Search SciFinder, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for articles citing the article "Alkali-Metal-Mediated Synergistic Effects in Polar Main Group Organometallic Chemistry" by Robertson, Uzelac, and Mulvey in Chemical Reviews. Compare the results. Why do they vary so much between databases?