reversecitation

Reverse citation is a bibliometric method used to identify documents that cite a given source. By starting from a target document and collecting all later works that reference it, researchers trace the influence of that source forward in time. This approach is sometimes described as forward citation tracking and can be viewed as the inverse of backward citation analysis, which examines the references a paper itself lists.

Data sources for reverse citation include major scholarly databases and indexes such as Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, Crossref, and OpenAlex. These platforms provide links between citing and cited works, enabling researchers to assemble lists of articles, books, or other materials that have cited the target item.

Common steps involve retrieving the set of citing items using the document’s identifier (such as a DOI), removing duplicates, and then performing analyses on citation counts, time-to-first-citation, disciplinary distribution, and author or institutional patterns. Network analyses can reveal how the target work influenced different research communities, as well as key intermediary papers that helped propagate its ideas.

Applications of reverse citation include measuring scholarly impact, tracing the diffusion of concepts across fields, supporting literature reviews, and identifying emerging trends or debates sparked by a work. Limitations include coverage gaps or delays in indexing, disciplinary variation in citation practices, potential self-citation, and metadata inconsistencies across databases. Results may differ between sources due to differing coverage and update schedules.

See also: forward citation, backward citation, co-citation, bibliometrics.