Advanced Researcher Tools

Sometimes you find useful citations in the references list of an article you are reading.

Also referred to as "known item searching" or "ancestral searching" or "mining the bibliography" this strategy is when you have a citation in hand to an article (or book, or other source) and you use that information to track down the source to read the item. 

At the library there are easy ways to track down that citation!

Try searching for the article title in quote marks, and add the last name of an author of the article to your search.

Because OneSearch is so widespread (it searches across many of our databases) chances are good you will track down your citation!

Google Scholar is a great first stop to help you track down an article for which you have the citation.  A "best practice" in Google Scholar is to search for the full title of an article you want to read and see if it comes up in the results with links to the full text article.  So for example, lets say we come across the following citation, and just have to read it:

Moore, Peter L., et al. "Glacier slip and seismicity induced by surface melt." Geology 41.12 (2013): 1247-1250.

Go to http://scholar.google.com and search for the title of the article GLACIER SLIP AND SEISMICITY INDUCED BY SURFACE MELT 

As long as the article title is fairly long and unique, you should come across a citation for your article in the results. If you have set your Google Scholar to recognize your local library, then it will provide linking to library collections - for the full text of the article when it is available... See the link below for instructions to set up your Google Scholar preferences.

Another way of finding an article for which you have the citation is by using Journal Title Search.  Journal Title Search will tell you which journals are available through the Egan Library collections (both online and physical).  If you would like to track down an article you can search for the JOURNAL NAME in Journal Title Search and then link to the full text of that journal or know where to find it in the library collections.

Turner, B. L. "Contested Identities: Human‐Environment Geography and Disciplinary Implications in a Restructuring Academy." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 92.1 (2002): 52-74.

In Journal Title Search, search for the journal name: ANNALS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS

Journal Title Search tells us that this journal is available in several places.  Since the article we would like to read is from 2002, we can access it in Academic Search Premier among other choices.

 When you click through to Academic Search Premier, you may have to use your UA username and password, if you are not on campus.