3 Use citation analysis

Another useful feature of citation databases is that they allow you to analyze the citations of a document or an author. You can use citation analysis to find related works, measure the impact and influence of a publication, identify key authors and journals in your field, and discover emerging trends and gaps. For example, you can use the cited by or citing articles function to see who has cited a document or an author, and what they have said about it. You can also use the citation report or h-index function to see the citation counts and metrics of a document or an author.

4 Use alerts and export tools

Citation databases also offer some tools to help you stay updated and organized with your literature search. You can use alerts to receive notifications when new documents matching your search criteria or citing a document or an author are added to the database. You can also use export tools to save, print, email, or share your search results and citations. Some citation databases also allow you to export your citations to a reference management software, such as EndNote or Zotero, which can help you store, manage, and cite your sources.

5 Use help and training resources

Finally, if you want to learn more about how to use citation databases effectively, you can use the help and training resources that they provide. Most citation databases have online guides, tutorials, videos, webinars, and FAQs that can help you with various aspects of using the database, such as searching, filtering, analyzing, exporting, and citing. You can also contact the database support team or your library staff for assistance or feedback.