Once you have found a good article, you can use its citations or reference list to find additional resources. There are two ways you can do this:
1. Footnote chasing: You look at an information source's citation list - this will lead you to material that is older.
If you find a good source of information it can be a good idea to take a look at its reference list to see if you can find any other useful resources.
Things to note:
- This method helps you find information that is older. If the source you are looking at is already quite old, this may not be the best method to employ, though there is certainly no harm in looking.
- Every article you find using this method should be subjected to the same evaluative scrutiny as any other information source.
2. Citation searching: You look at who has cited the information source - this will lead you to material that is newer.
Some, but not all, databases including Google Scholar have a feature where you can see who has cited the resource you're looking at.
Things to note:
- The database is unlikely to show you every citing article. This is because no database will contain every resource written on a topic. A database can only compare its own records.
- Every article you find using this method should be subjected to the same evaluative scrutiny as any other information source.