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PSY309/469 Research Skills Guide: Use Citation Databases

Why Citation Databases

Scopus database is known as a citation index because the article records include lists of citing articles. This means that, if you find an article of interest, you can look at subsequent articles that have cited it. You can find important articles on a topic, and follow research paths.

It does not contain the full-text of articles, so you will need to use the Find it button to get the full-text.

Scopus is a multi-subject database, but does cover the health sciences, physical sciences, and social sciences & humanities. 

The Library also subscribes to the Web of Science Core Collection, which is an alternative citation index.

Searching in Scopus

  • The default is to Document Search, which is similar to Advanced Search in other databases. (In Scopus, the Advanced Search screen relies on using field codes.) You can add lines of search (Add Search Field).
     
  • The default is to search in Title, Abstract, and Keywords. As in other databases, you can change this if you wish to specify the field searched.
     
  • The default is to a keyword search so if you want to search for a phrase, enclose it in double quotation marks.
     
  • In Scopus, there are some limiters that can be used as part of a search, but many more that can be applied to a set of results. In fact, you can choose to Limit to, or Exclude, certain results.
     
  • The proximity operator is W/n, where n is the number of words you specify.>
     
  • Scopus does not contain links to the full-text of articles. For each result, you will need to use the Find it button to search for the full article in other Library databases.
     
  • You can do as much searching as you like, and return to the results later. Your previous searches appear in the Search history panel beneath the search panel. (The Search history panel appears only once you have run at least one search!)
     
  • If you wish to save searches or set up search alerts, you need to register with Elsevier. Here's how:
  1. At the top right of screen, click on Create account
  2. Follow the instructions and prompts to register
  3. Your email address will be your username. Make sure you remember your password for future use!

 

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