Library Guides: Cited Reference Searching: A How-To Guide: Social Sciences & Humanities

Tips for Searching in Each Database

ABI/INFORM Global
Offers ability to search special fields: CAU = Cited Author, CTI = Cited Title, CPUB = Cited Publication, and REF = References. Example for how to format searches: CAU(smith) and CTI(rana pipiens).
Academic Search Ultimate
This database covers almost all subject areas and is especially good at interdisciplinary areas. Good place to start for class assignments. It contains full text articles for more than 6,500 journals.
America: History and Life
Look for Cited References button at top of screen.

Annual Review of...series (mainly science with some social science)
Not possible to search within full-text, but can search within References.

Communication Abstracts
Look for Cited References button at top of screen.
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
Offers ability to search special fields: CAU = Cited Author, CTI = Cited Title, CPUB = Cited Publication, and REF = References. Example for how to format searches: CAU(smith) and CTI(rana pipiens).

EconPapers (Economics)
Not possible to search within Reference lists but they are available for some items. Search within full-text. Cited refs will display on abstract pages.
Emerald journals (management, library science)
Advanced Search will find references in full text using the “all fields” search. Also, when you look at a journal article within Emerald, click on HTML version and above the information about the journal article you will see something that looks like: "Downloads: The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 1159 times since 2006." While this is not the number of times it has been "cited," it does give some indication of how often that article has been viewed. Emerald also provides usage data for specific articles "on request" - contact them and ask. They usually provide number of downloads per year for the article - and comparative data for other articles within the same journal.
Google Books
Use combination of author name and keywords from the title. Will search full-text but cannot specify you want it to search within the references. May have misleading results. No guarantee author name will be near keywords.

Google Scholar
(All disciplines) Recommend searching with author name inverted as well as non-inverted. Will search full-text but cannot specify you want it to search within the references.
Historical Abstracts
Look for Cited References button at top of screen.
Hospitality and Tourism Index
Look for Cited References button at top of screen.
JSTOR
Advanced search within full text will pull up author names in references.
LGBTQ+ Source
Look for Cited References button at top of screen.
Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts
Look for Cited References button at top of screen.

LISTA with Full Text coverage extends back as far as the mid-1960s.
Project Muse
Not possible to search within references specifically. Search in “all fields” will find references in full-text of HTML articles only.

ProQuest databases advanced search (all disciplines)
Offers ability to search special fields: CAU = Cited Author, CTI = Cited Title, CPUB = Cited Publication, and REF = References. Example for how to format searches: CAU(smith) and CTI(rana pipiens). Not all ProQuest databases have these fields assigned/indexed.

PsycArticles
Use Cited References tab.
PsycINFO
Offers ability to search special fields: CAU = Cited Author, CTI = Cited Title, CPUB = Cited Publication, and REF = References. Example for how to format searches: CAU(smith) and CTI(rana pipiens).
ScienceDirect
(Science and economics) Advanced Search has option for searching within References. In results list, clicking on article title will bring up page that shows citing articles in right sidebar.
Scopus
Use Document Search and change the drop-down menu to search within the References - OR - use Author Search to look for all items by a specific author and then use "show documents" and then "view cited by."
Social Services Abstracts
Offers ability to search special fields: CAU = Cited Author, CTI = Cited Title, CPUB = Cited Publication, and REF = References. Example for how to format searches: CAU(smith) and CTI(rana pipiens).
Sociological Abstracts
Offers ability to search special fields: CAU = Cited Author, CTI = Cited Title, CPUB = Cited Publication, and REF = References. Example for how to format searches: CAU(smith) and CTI(rana pipiens).
Violence and Abuse Abstracts
Look for Cited References button at top of screen.
Web of Science Core Collection
Cited Reference Search is a clickable option above the search box. Not possible to search references using title words.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Offers ability to search special fields: CAU = Cited Author, CTI = Cited Title, CPUB = Cited Publication, and REF = References. Example for how to format searches: CAU(smith) and CTI(rana pipiens).