Scopus (A How-to Guide): Cited Reference Search

When a published document is indexed to be added to any scholarly database, certain key pieces of information are almost always included:  title, author, date, where it was published, etc. When a document is added to Scopus, the record includes details about every item cited by that document. If the cited document is also indexed in Scopus, information about the citation is used to enhanced that document record. 

This additional level of document description means that cited reference searching is one of the most powerful tools in Scopus. We can use it to trace the research impact of individual documents and trace the development of the scholarly conversation. 

Citation data is visible from the detailed document record of individual items. 

• You can see Citations in Scopus [1] to see how often this document has been cited by other documents also included in Scopus and how that number compares to other documents
• The Field Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) [2] score attempts to account difference in publication/citation norms across disciplines by comparing the total citations of a document to the average number of citations for other documents published in the same subject areas. A value greater than one presents above average citation frequencies
• The Cited by panel on the right side of the record gives you the option to View all citing documents [3] and save a Citation alert [4] to get an email whenever a new citing document is added to Scopus
• Scroll down to the bottom of the record to see a list of all of the documents cited by this one

Explore additional citation data in Scopus from the document search results screen. These powerful tools allow you to identify publications that have had an outsize impact on your research area and discover additional, relevant research. 

• Click in the Citation overview [1] button to see citation trends for all of the documents in your results list over time 
• Under the More menu, you'll see the option to View cited by [2] to generate a list of citing documents in Scopus for one or more of your search results
• You can also View references [3] to see a list of all of the publications cited by these documents, including secondary documents

Citation overview shows total citations per document per year for a selection of documents. This allows you to identify the most frequently cited articles and track trends over time. 

• Click on any of the hyperlinked numbers in the chart to see a list of citing documents contributing to that total
• Customize your view by setting the Date range [1], filtering out certain citing documents [2], or changing the document Sort [3] 
• Citation overview is also available when viewing saved lists of documents. Create custom collections of documents to track their impact over time

When a document is added to Scopus, all of the documents it cites are recorded. When a cited document is not part of a Scopus-indexed publication, it is added to Scopus as a secondary document. These documents do not have detailed Scopus records, but they do appear in search results.