Graziano & Raulin
Research Methods (9th edition)
Searching Forward
The searching forward strategy is possible because of the existence of citation indexes. If virtually all articles on a topic cite one or more classic articles, then one can identify these later articles by using an appropriate citation index. Again, this strategy is not a substitute for searching by topic, but can be a useful supplement.
Our Example: Explicit Memory in Anxiety Disorders
It is more difficult to illustrate the searching forward strategy in our example, because we have yet to narrow the focus of our research to a specific topic and, therefore, cannot identify classic studies that might prove useful in identifying more recent work on the topic through a search of the citation indices. Searching forward is at best a supplementary strategy for finding the occasional paper that may have been missed by the other strategies already outlined and illustrated in this section. Nevertheless, it can be a useful supplement that should not be overlooked.
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