Library Help: Office For Open Research

What is Web of Science?

The Web of Science database, developed by Clarivate Analytics, is a multidisciplinary academic database that provides access to an extensive collection of scholarly research literature. It has integration with Clarivate's InCites product which can be used to perform advanced filtering, analysis and visualisation.

What does Web of Science cover and what are its strengths?

Web of Science provides users with a vast collection of research content that encompasses a wide range of disciplines, including natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. The Web of Science Core Collection is the primary database which can be broken down to several specialized citation indexes:

1. Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE): Access to over 61 million records, across 9500 journal titles over 182 scientific disciplines, dating back to 1900.

2. Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI): Access to over 10 million records, across 3500 journal titles over 47 subject categories, dating back to 1900.

3. Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI): Access to over 5 million records, across 1800 journal titles over 25 subject categories, dating back to 1975.

4. Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI): Access to over 4 million records, across 8000 journal titles over 254 subject categories, dating back to 2005.

5. Book Citation Index: Covers over 137,000 books, over 254 subject categories, dating back to 2005.

6. Conference Proceedings Citation Index: Covers over 300,000 conferences, across 254 subject categories, dating back to 1990.

In total, Web of Science covers over 80 million records, from over 23,000 journal titles across thousands of publishers.

One of the key strengths of Web of Science is its historical coverage, with many of the core indexes dating all the way back to 1900. It also offers specialized search capabilities for chemical structures and patents.

How do I access Web of Science?

You can access Web of Science via Library Search.

In order to use the platform most effectively, including gaining the ability to save searches, we recommended that you register for an account with Clarivate before using the platform.

Web of Science can be accessed programmatically via an API. For more information, check out Clarivate's developer portal.

How do I use the Web of Science?

• Introduction to the Web of Science Platform: This guide produced by our Specialist Library Support Service covers the basics of generating an effective search within Web of Science. The guide is tailored towards those working in Health Sciences, but the principles can be adapted for any subject.

• How to save a search on Web of Science: Access this guide from our Specialist Library Support Service which covers the basics of creating an account and saving your searches.

• Web of Science Essentials course: You can register for this 90-minute self-directed course which introduces you to the fundamentals of searching and citations.

• Citation context in Web of Science: These indicate why an author may have cited a reference. This guide covers how to quickly scan article sections and classifications to determine which references are the most closely related or the most impactful and infer each reference's purpose.

• Guide to analytics in Web of Science: Select the Analytics tab to view content on:

  • Citation trends

  • Citation reports

  • Understanding your organisation's research footprint

More information

You can contact the Library's Office for Open Research team for more information and support in using Web of Science or other Open Research systems.