What is Web of Science?

The Web of Science scientometrics database is one of the most popular and influential scientific platforms in the world. For researchers, publication in journals indexed in this database is an indicator of the professional competence and influence of their scientific work. In this article, we will look at what Web of Science is, what citation indexes it includes, and so on.

What is the Web of Science database?

Web of Science (WoS) is a multidisciplinary platform that began operating in 1997. WoS indexes materials dating back to 1864 and covers thousands of scientific publications. The database includes journals that have undergone rigorous selection and belong to various citation indexes and collections.

 
Web of Science content

• 34,000+ peer-reviewed journals in the Core Collection
• 120,000+ scientific books (via Book Citation Index)
• 1.4 billion citations
• Records from 1864 to the present day
• 8 main indexes

Although Web of Science is a database covering various fields of science, technical disciplines still predominate on the platform.

Structure of the Web of Science database

The database is based on the Web of Science Core Collection, which consists of separate indexes.

Web of Science Core Collection indices

1. Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) – an expanded citation index that includes more than 9,000 journals in 182 subject disciplines.
2. Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) – a citation index for the social sciences, containing more than 3,500 publications in 47 subject disciplines. 
3. Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) – a citation index for the arts and humanities, containing more than 1,800 publications in 25 subject disciplines.
4. Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) – a citation index for new sources, containing more than 9,000 publications in over 250 disciplines.
5. Conference Proceedings Citation Index – Science (CPCI-S) – covers all areas of science and technology.
6. Conference Proceedings Citation Index – Social Science & Humanities (CPCI-SSH) – covers social sciences and humanities.
7. Book Citation Index – Science (BKCI-S) – covers scientific books and book chapters in the natural sciences and technical sciences.
8. Book Citation Index – Social Sciences & Humanities (BKCI-SSH) – indexes books and book chapters in the social sciences and humanities.

The most important indexes are SCIE, SSCI and AHCI, with the first two determining the quartile and impact factor.

Regional Web of Science databases

• Chinese Science Citation Database – a Chinese database indexing more than 1,300 journals since 1989
• Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO Citation Index) – an open access library containing research published in Latin America, Spain, Portugal, the Caribbean and South Africa. The number of indexed journals is approximately 1,500, starting from 2002
• KCI Korean Journal Database – the database contains more than 2,500 South Korean journals, starting from 1980
• ARCI Arabic Citation Index – the index is funded by the Egyptian government and created by Clarivate. The database includes approximately 600 Arabic journals, starting from 2015

Web of Science thematic databases

• BIOSIS Citation Index – contains approximately 6,000 scientific journals in the fields of biological sciences and medicine, dating from 1926 to the present day
• BIOSIS Previews – consists of approximately 6,000 scientific journals from 1926 to the present day
• CABI: CAB Abstracts – indexes scientific publications in agriculture, natural sciences and other sciences from 1910 to the present day
• Current Contents Connect – provides online access to the full content and abstracts of the latest issues of leading scientific journals
• Data Citation Index – contains descriptions of scientific data sets and links them to publications in Web of Science
• Derwent Innovations Index – provides fast and accurate search for patents and their citations in the chemical, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering fields
• Grants Index – the database provides the ability to search for information about grants that have been provided by leading public and private organisations from around the world
• MEDLINE – an authoritative database on biological sciences from the US National Library of Medicine
• Policy Citation Index – founded in 1950, this database contains policy reports and scientific publications that have been used to formulate public policy
• Preprint Citation Index – this database contains preprints of key scientific articles prior to their official publication in journals in the fields of natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities
• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index – the world's largest collection of dissertations and theses, containing over 5 million citations and 3 million full-text works from thousands of universities
• Research Commons – contains data from open sources, which improves the search for materials that are not indexed on the WoS platform

Web of Science is a product of Clarivate, so the database is linked to all of the company's developments. Thanks to this, publication in WoS not only creates opportunities for international partnership, but also facilitates scientific research using the Clarivate network.

Web of Science tools

1. Journal Citation Reports (JCR) – created for the analysis of scientific journals. With the help of the database, you can view journal metrics, in particular Impact Factor, quartile, etc., and compare publications with each other.
2. Endnote – a bibliography programme that simplifies the search for scientific materials and their citation.
3. Publons – an online platform for authors, reviewers and editors, allowing them to present their scientific achievements and create research CVs.
4. Web of Science My Research Assistant – a mobile application with Web of Science functions.
5. InCites – an analytical platform for evaluating the scientific activity of institutions, researchers, and countries based on WoS data.

Publishing research in the Web of Science database is an important step in the career of every scientist. It confirms the scientific significance and international recognition of their work.

At the same time, journals indexed in WoS have very strict requirements for articles and a thorough review process. Sometimes, researchers may fail to take into account the basic requirements for article formatting. This significantly complicates the publication process, and many scientists lose their chance for successful publication at the stage of preparing an article for submission to a scientific journal.

Need a publication in Web of Science? Contact Scientific Publications! We will provide professional consulting and a free audit of your scientific article to ensure its successful publication in ranking WoS journals. Get a free consultation by filling out the form below, and our manager will contact you shortly. Together towards successful publication!