How to use the "Citations" feature of Google Scholar to search for relevant literature?
The "Citations" feature in Google Scholar enables users to identify publications that have referenced a specific scholarly work, allowing for efficient tracing of related literature and academic influence through citation networks. This functionality is readily accessible for articles indexed within the platform.
This feature requires that the target publication has been indexed by Google Scholar and displays a "Cited by" count and link. After locating an article, clicking "Cited by" reveals all indexed publications citing it, which can then be filtered by year, relevance, or author to refine results. It is particularly effective for seminal or foundational works but may yield incomplete data for recently published or lesser-known items. Users should verify that cited entries align with their research scope, as not all citing works are equally relevant.
To implement, first access the Google Scholar entry for your target article and click the "Cited by" link. Next, utilize the available filters (e.g., by publication year or relevance) to narrow the list of citing literature. This approach supports rapid discovery of newer studies, interdisciplinary connections, or seminal follow-ups, saving time in literature reviews and enhancing research comprehensiveness.
