Seminal Works

Seminal works, sometimes referred to as an original or landmark work, are sources that have introduced a new idea that has become widely influential in a particular field or discipline. Seminal works are frequently cited in research because of their significant impact.

Seminal works are important to the field. Citing a seminal work shows that the researcher recognizes the impact of the original idea. It is also a way for the researcher to show that they are contributing to the scholarly conversation around a particular idea.

Are there any authors, article titles, or ideas that you see being cited repeatedly in the articles you are finding? Those might be seminal works.

Check to see how many times an article has been cited. If the number is high, it might be a seminal work. Google scholar allows you to see how many times a work has been cited and can be a good place to start.

Seminal works can also be found through citation chaining. This is a process where you look at the citations of a source to find other sources that may be useful in answering a research question.

Tip: Do not use a date limiter when searching for seminal works in a database. Seminal works may have been published a long time ago but are still relevant to the field today.