As you read articles you have found for your literature review, you may discover terms that open up new possibilities for library searches. You might discover:
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Here are some helpful things to look for in published articles.
As you find interesting keywords or terminology in articles you read, record these words in your search log and plan new library searches on these terms. (Review search log strategy in this lesson.)
Citation chaining is a strategy in which you look for the materials that are cited by or that cite an article you already have. One resource links you to another, which links you to another, etc. to create a chain of relevant literature. This is a useful research tactic when you are working on a literature review since it helps you follow chains of related research.
A basic citation chaining strategy is to look at the reference list of an article you have already read. Researchers will cite other research that is relevant to their topic and their field of study. You can simply read the bibliography pages of any article; however, some databases have tools to make citation chaning even easier.
Even if the database does not feature citation links for your article, any bibliography will contain full citation information that will allow you to track down the sources. See also: how to find the full text of articles when you have the citation information.
Use Google Scholar's Cited By link to find articles and books that cite your original result. This feature is a great way to find more recent articles and to trace an idea from its original source up to the present.
1. Start by locating a specific article in Google Scholar.
2. Look for the Cited by number at the bottom of the result.
3. Click the Cited by link to see all of the items that cite your original item. Older and more influential items will have a higher number of Cited by results.
4. You can limit these cited by results by either searching for keywords within the results, or limiting the date range.