You may be familiar with the Web of Science database and its flagship service, the Science Citation Index.  Commencing in 1960 as a series of print volumes, the Science Citation Index is a unique reference tool that has been invaluable to users, especially those in the academic community, allowing them to  see  which articles have cited an earlier article or an author.   However the Web of Science offers much more than science citations.  It also provides access to the Social Sciences Citation Index and the Humanities Citation Index.  So, say for example, you are reading a great article on the last sonnets of Shakespeare, and you are interested in finding similar articles. A great way of continuing your research is by viewing the bibliography to see what prior articles were cited by the author, then by using the Humanities Citation Index to see what later articles cited the article you are reading.

Searching the online database is much easier than poring through the old print volumes which required you to move from year to year, and perhaps browse alphabetically through hundreds of pages.  It is now easy enough for you to casually give it a try with a quick search,  so if you have a minute, go ahead and jump right in!  But just before you do,  here are a few things to bear in mind so you start off on the right track.   There are multiple yellow tabs you can click to access different resources, but you will start out in the Web of Science tab.  This is important, because it is currently the only tab from which you can access the Social Sciences and the Humanities portion of the database. Moreover, Science Citation Index is the default database — it is the only database you will search if you type keywords in the search box without making any option adjustments.  In order to search the others, you need to look further down the page to find the option for Citation Database.  From here you can select from the three citation databases.  You can choose one or two, or you can simultaneously search all three.  For more general information about the database, what it provides and  what you can do with it, see Web of Science coverage broadened and enhanced.