Traditionally, citation metrics refer to how many times your research has been cited in journal articles. For legal scholarship, however, you may also find relevant citations and references to your work in case law. Before you start, consider in what type of publications and resources you would expect to find references to your scholarship.
For example:
- Do you publish primarily in legal journals? You may choose to demonstrate impact using legal databases like HeinOnline, Westlaw, and Lexis.
- Do you publish primarily in an interdisciplinary or international context? You may focus on Google Scholar and other interdisciplinary databases.
- Do you publish primarily in an area with high public policy impact? You may need to identify alternative sources like news articles, industry publications, or government documents.
The following pages provide additional information on finding article and case citations in legal databases.
