Researchers often turn to a number of tried and true tricks in order to find the resources they need: card catalogs, periodical indexes, academic databases, search engines, subject directories...the list goes on. In contrast, the citation trail is a path thats taken with decreasing frequency, especially when its college students who are doing the research.

Although it may require more effort to gather resources by way of a citation trail, sources gathered with this method are usually highly relevant and trustworthy. If you are currently researching a topic for class, or find yourself in need of reliable information, give the citation trail a try - you might just be pleasantly surprised by your results!

A citation is simply a direct quotation or a reference to an opinion, fact, or piece of data that can be found elsewhere. When conducting research, a citation located in one relevant source can point you in the direction of second useful resource.

Heres how it works. First, locate one or two quality resources the conventional way. For instance, visit your library, hit the stacks (or the computer terminals), and identify and locate a few books or journal articles on your topic. As you peruse them, pay close attention to the citations located within these sources.

While you're reading the actual text of the book or article, take note of any citations that are made as the author addresses your topic - these will prove especially helpful. Additionally, jot down the names of any authors, theorists, or researchers that keep coming up, particularly if they are referred to as pioneers in the field or the producers of seminal work. Using your library's academic databases, you can then find their original work - a strategy that's definitely preferable to relying on secondary accounts of their writings!

Once you identify one or more promising citations, refer to the bibliography (also called the reference section, works cited, or something similar) in order to find the complete listing for the source of interest. The citations bibliographic entry will tell you the authors name, the pieces title, the date of publication, and additional information that will ultimately help you locate the source. Be sure to record the full entry - the more information you have, the easier it will be to track down the resource.

You'll find that, after doing this once or twice, you've begun to follow a citation trail. An intriguing citation will lead you to an interesting article, in which you find another citation to a historical text, and so on. While it might be a little more time-intensive than a simple keyword search in a database, it will eventually lead you to some high-quality sources.

Once you have identified some promising citations, you can search for them using your library's online catalog and/or academic databases. For books, head right to the online catalog to see whether your library or its consortia own the item. Likewise with journal articles: first look up the journal's title in your library's catalog to see if they own the item and, if so, where it can be found. If the journal is included in one of the academic databases your library subscribes to, this will be reflected in the catalog's entry. Otherwise, you might have to request a copy via interlibrary loan. In the event that you cant find a record for the journal, then you're out of luck - unless you're willing to contact the publisher of the journal or a document delivery service and pay a fee.

Pursuing a source on the citation trail may take some effort, but it's well worth the extra time. Try to obtain at least a few of your sources this way. If nothing else, it's a lesson in perseverance!