Six degrees of separation (using citation databases)

The assignment consists of two articles that should link to each other in as few steps as possible through references within those articles. The link between these articles can by found by:

• Looking up the references of the newer article and moving back in time, or
• Looking to see who cited the older article and moving forward in time.

To accomplish this, citation databases can be used. These databases can help you see who has cited an article since it has been published (moving forward in time) and also the references that are cited by a specific article (moving backward in time). Here are some examples of three citation databases: Web of Science, SciFinder, and Google Scholar.

If you need help in using these resources, please contact Krista Alexander (Krista.Alexander@concordia.ca or 514.848.2424 ext. 5237).

Step 1 - Moving backwards in time: (Watch the video)

1. Access the Web of Science database.
2. Do a title search for the most recent article in your assignment.
3. In the results list, click on the title of the article.
4. On the page that is displayed, there is a blue box on the right hand side. Click on the number next to "Cited References". These are all the sources cited by this article. You can access most of these articles by clicking on their title, and then looking at their References. This could lead you all the way back to the original article in your assignment.
   
   

• Note: The library subscription to Web of Science only goes back to 1979. This means that although you may see titles of articles published before 1979 in reference lists, you will not be able to access these articles in the Web of Science database.

Step 2 - Moving forward in time: (Watch the video)
When you access Web of Science, click on the link "Cited Reference Search" at the top of the search screen. Using information from the oldest article on your assignment, enter all or part of the following (Note: you must enter the information exactly as it is presented in the "Examples" under each search box) :

• Cited Author
• Cited Work
• Cited Year

1. Click on Search.
2. On the following screen, put a checkmark next to the entry that represents your paper. Then select "Finish Search". The resulting list of references will be all the articles (from 1979 to the present) that have cited the original paper since it has been published.
3. From this list, you can move forward in time by clicking on the "Times Cited" link under each title. This will give you a list of all the articles that have cited that particular paper since it has been published. By moving forward in time this way, you may at one point find the most recent paper in your assignment.

Note: you will need a login and password to use SciFinder. Please follow the instructions on the SciFinder webpage.

Step 1 - Moving backwards in time:

1. Access the SciFinder database.
2. Under "Explore" click on the "Journal" link.
3. Enter some or all of the citation information for the most recent article of your assignment.
4. On the results page, click on the title of your paper.
5. On the page with the abstract for your paper, click on the "Get Related Citations" tab, which is just above the title, and then select "Get Cited". This will give you a list of all the articles that were cited in the article's bibliography.
6. From this list, click on the titles of other articles that seem relevant, and look at their "Cited" references. This could lead you all the way back to the original article in your assignment.
   

Step 2 - Moving forward in time:

1. Access the SciFinder database.
2. Under "Explore" click on the "Journal" link.
3. Enter some or all of the citation information for the oldest article of your assignment.
4. On the results page, click on the title of your paper.
5. On the page with the abstract for your paper, click on the "Get Related Citations" tab, which is just above the title, and then select "Get Citing". This will give you a list of all the articles that have cited this older article since it's been published.
6. From this list, click on the titles of other articles that seem relevant, and look at their "Citing" references. By moving forward in time this way, you may at one point find the most recent paper in your assignment.

Google Scholar also provides citation information. Try a title search for the oldest article in your assignment. If you find it in Google Scholar, there may be a "Cited by" link under the title. Clicking on this link will retrieve all the articles that have cited the paper since it's been published.

Note: Google Scholar has notoriously faulty data. Use with caution.