LibGuides: Curry School: Promotion and Tenure Resources: Book Metrics

Book Chapter Citation Metrics Provided by Databases

Some databases such as PsycINFO , PsycBOOKS, and MLA provide cited reference information for books and book chapters. Citation data is limited, of course, to the number of times the book or chapter was cited by the journals and books indexed in the designated database.

Traditionally, the only real metric for book chapter usage has been the number of times they have been cited. (NOTE: book chapter citation rates are notoriously inaccurate in that sometimes the book editor is cited instead of the chapter editor.)

Book Citation Metrics Provided by Google Scholar

Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Here is an example of a search done in Google Scholar to find out how many times Robert Pianta's book, Handbook of Early Childhood Education, was cited in sources indexed in Google Scholar. In the search box I entered his name and then entered the title of one of his books in quotation marks which allows the title to be search as a phrase. I did NOT put quotation marks around Robert Pianta as he may sign a variation of his name such as Robert C. Pianta and if I used "Robert Pianta", I would not retrieve Robert C. Pianta. The first listing shows the number of times his book was cited by resources indexed in GS.

NOTE: The resulting citation list would NOT include citations to individual chapters in the book.

Book Data

The WorldCat Identities database can provide you with the number of libraries that have a copy of your book.

WorldCat Identities
WorldCat Identities is a free website that collects information about book authors and shows aggregated information about the author, their works, and a profile of library holdings worldwide. It can provide a nice at-a-glance summary for an author. WorldCat data is available for authors who have published in the U.S. and is very good at including information on books from "major" publishers. Books published by small presses outside the U.S. are less likely to be included.

Questions? Contact the Curry Librarians

Please contact the Curry librarian, Kay Buchanan to discuss other options for providing evidence of your impact as a researcher.

Email the Curry librarian or call them at 434-982-2664.

Curry School: Promotion and Tenure Resources

Book Chapter Citation Metrics Provided by Databases

Book Citation Metrics Provided by Google Scholar

Book Data

Questions? Contact the Curry Librarians

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