Skip to Main Content

Finding Related Sources: Home

This guide will walk you through how to find sources related to your topic and the research you are doing.

Using References to Find Related Sources

Finding sources related to your topic and research can be difficult. Watch the video to learn how to find related sources. 

Finding Related Sources

How to Find a Related Source

1. The first strategy for finding a related source is to investigate the research that has influenced an article you are reading. As you read an article on your topic, pay close attention to the sources the authors cite.

Who does the author cite?

2. Researching the articles’ introduction and/or literature review sections are great places to look at the sources cited by the author as they introduce research previously published on the topic. As you read through the article, take note of research that sounds relevant, then scroll down to the article’s reference list to find the full citation.

In text citation.

Reference section of the article

3. Once you’ve found the citation, copy the entire citation. Then, open Google Scholar in a new tab, paste the citation you found, and click search. If you haven’t synced your Google Scholar account with USU, go to this libguide to ensure you get free access to articles USU subscribes to.

Google scholar search bar

4. You can also simply scan the article’s reference list to see if an article’s title sounds relevant and interesting. Again, you copy and paste a citation in Google Scholar to get quick access.

Reference list of an article.

5. Another strategy you can use is investigating articles that were influenced by an article you found useful. Paste the article’s citation in Google Scholar. However, instead of accessing the article’s PDF, click the “Cited By” link beneath the article’s abstract. This pulls up a list of sources that have cited that article. You can scroll the results to find relevant articles to read.

Google scholar result list. Find "cited by" under the description of the article


Get Help

Profile Photo
Library Help
Subjects: Accounting, Agriculture, Animal, Dairy & Veterinary Sciences, Anthropology, Applied Economics, Applied Sciences, Technology, & Education, Arts, Automotive Mechanics, Aviation & Technical Education, Biological Engineering, Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Communication Studies, Communicative Disorders & Deaf Education, Computer Science, Concurrent Enrollment/High School, Cosmetology, Criminal Justice & Law Enforcement, Data Management, Data Sets, Dictionaries & Encyclopedias, Digital Humanities, Economics & Finance, Education, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Engineering, Engineering Education, English 1010/2010, Environment & Ecology, Geography, Geosciences, Human Development & Family Studies, Images, Instructional Technology & Learning Sciences, Interior Design, Intersectional Gender Studies & Research, Journalism & Communication, Kinesiology & Health Science, Landscape Architecture, Languages & Cultures, Library & Information Science, Management, Marketing & Strategy, Mathematics & Statistics, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Music, Newspapers, Nursing, Nutrition, Dietetics & Food Sciences, Philosophy, Physics, Plant, Soils & Climate, Political Science & Law, Psychology, Research Tips, Social Work, Sociology and Anthropology, Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling, Statistical Information, Technology, Design, and Technical Education, Theater Arts, Theses & Dissertations, Utah's Online Library, Veterinary Medicine, Visual Arts, Watershed Science & Fisheries, Welding, Wildlife, Range and Forestry