Q. What's citation tracing and why should I do it?

Citation Tracing is a general term for looking at both the references of a paper and the other publications that have cited it for related work. Also called "ancestry searching" and "citation searching" it's a useful way of finding related papers, foundational work, and/or current research related to an already identified paper. It's especially useful if you are having trouble finding work on your topic, but have found one or two good publications. References or cited publication searches go backwards in time, and citing publication searches go forward in time.

References/cited publications <--- Starting publication ---> Citing publications

(Older)                                                                                                     (Newer)

References can be reviewed right in the starting article, or via tools like Semantic Scholar or Connected Papers. A few databases also have reference lists for selected publications, such as CINAHL, Medline, and Proquest Dissertations. (Look for links or sections for References or Cited Works, etc.)

Citing publications can be viewed in Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar, Connected Papers, and some databases such as CINAHL and Scopus. (Look for links or sections such as Cited By, Times Cited in This Database, Citing Works, etc.)