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HSC 304: Environmental Health: Articles

Recommended Databases

Citing References

Citing references are used to chain "forward" to newer articles that include the article you have found in their references (in this photo 41). These articles should be more recent than the original article and can be relevant to your research question or topic. Citing references can help you move forward in the research process to help anticipate research is headed.

Citing references can also indicate if an article relevant to a field of study or controversial. If an article has many citing references--especially if it's a recent article--many researchers are reading it, referencing it, and talking about it. In addition to being useful in discovering the impact of this article in a field of study, citing references can also reveal if the article is of high-quality or low-quality science. Review some of the citing references to determine which is the case.

You can find citing references in Web of Science and Google Scholar.

Similar Articles

Some databases include "Related" or "Similar" citations in an article record. When you open an article record, may see a list of or links to articles that are related topically or methodologically to the one you are currently viewing. Databases use different search methods from your search to obtain these similar records. Some articles may be very relevant, while some may be too broad or specific than what you are looking for. These lists are still an easy way to quickly locate more information on your topic.

Verifying Peer Review

Need to be absolutely certain that an article has been peer-reviewed? Use UlrichsWeb! This database provides a range of information about a journal from publisher to title history. Peer-reviewed journals are indicated by a symbol that resembles a sports referee's jersey on them. 

**Tip: Remember to search by the name of the journal, not the title of the journal article.**

Recommended "Popular" Sources