The traditional metric for scholarly work is the number of times an article/book/conference paper, etc. is cited in scholarly literature. Web of Science and Google Scholar are the most comprehensive sources for citation counts, but they don't cover all disciplines equally well, particularly in the social sciences and humanities. For these fields, it may be necessary to search discipline specific databases as well.
For non-traditional article metrics such as coverage in social media (Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, online newsletters, etc.) click on the 'Altmetrics' tab.
Google Scholar:
Can GS citation counts be gamed? Read Phil Davis' December 12, 2012 blogpost: Gaming Google Scholar Citations, Made Simple and Easy
CiteSeerX (Beta)
Some full text databases such as those listed below don't have a 'cited reference' search option, but they allow you to do a keyword search for cited references.
Hein Online (Law),
Project Muse (Humanities & Social Sciences)
SpringerLink (Sciences)
Worldcat - A catalog of the combined holdings of thousands of libraries, primarily in the US and Europe. Search Worldcat to get an approximate idea of how many libraries own your book.
Google Scholar: Search for a book title in quotation marks (i.e. "Pedagogy of the Oppressed") If the book has been cited by publications found by Google Scholar, there will be a 'Cited By' link.
Other indicators of the reception of a book or book chapter may include:
Web of Science:
Use Web of Science to:
Ebscohost databases that have either a or
link at the top of the screen allow cited reference searching of the database's contents.
These databases include: Abstracts in Social Gerontology, Academic Search Complete, Bibliography of Native North Americans, Business Source Complete, CINAHL, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Education Research Complete, Film & Television Index with Full Text, GreenFILE, Hospitality & Tourism Complete, Humanities International Complete, LGBT Life with Full Text, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts With Full Text, Literary Reference Center, Political Science Complete, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, SocINDEX with Full Text, and Violence & Abuse Abstracts.
Many Proquest databases, such as those below, provide a 'cited by (number)' link in the search results records.
For example: Sociological Abstracts and Proquest Dissertations and Theses.
Hover over database name for more details.