How to find more recent seminal research papers based on the 'older' one you already have in your possession

Assuming you have in your possession a world-changing research paper which is a bit outdated, but groundbreaking nevertheless. You would like to find a more recent scientific work on the same topic. Dread no longer as we go through these few steps, leaving you with a research paper having an out-of-the-press smell.

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Steps to find a more recent scientific work

  1. Assemble all the necessary information to identify your 'outdated' research paper (e.g., title, authors, year, publication venue, etc.)
    • i.e., Berntson, G. G., Thomas Bigger, J., Eckberg, D. L., Grossman, P., Kaufmann, P. G., Malik, M., … Van Der Molen, M. W. (1997). Heart rate variability: Origins methods, and interpretive caveats. Psychophysiology. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1997.tb02140.x
  2. Open Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/)
  3. Enter the assembled identifier information in search and find the 'outdated' research paper you have in your possession
  4. Open the Cited by ### link just below in the meta-data of the 'outdated' research paper you found
  5. Browse through the list based on relevance
    • Note the number of citations these 'new' research papers have (this is a good indicator of their importance)
    • Note the 'new' research papers titles and the excerpts (this is a good indicator if these research papers are interesting to you)
    • Note the year of the research paper (you wanted to find a more recent publication, right)

  6. Congratulations, you have found a more recent scientific work on the same topic discussed in the 'outdated' research paper you already have in your possession

    • i.e., Shaffer, F., & Ginsberg, J. P. (2017). An Overview of Heart Rate Variability Metrics and Norms. Frontiers in Public Health, 5(September), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00258

    BIAS! Note that very recent publications have fewer citations than the 'older' ones, due to the time these 'older' publications were available to read and cite by the community. Keep an eye on fresh out-of-the-press publications, as they will have only a few citations. Even these publications might become super-important in the future as the community picks them up.

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