Scopus vs. Web of Science

OGSLM 2009

Mary Abdoney, Washington and Lee University

Side by side comparison of:– Number of records– Number of journals indexed– Dates of coverage– “Other” content– Frequency of updates– Alert services– Compatibility with bibliographic management software

12 October 2009 Mary Abdoney

SCOPUS WEB OF SCIENCE# of Records 33 million 36 million

# of Journals indexed 16,000 10,000

Dates of Coverage 1869 to present (only continuously from 1996)

1900 to present (backfiles purchased separately for one-time fee)

“Other” Content Conference proceedings, book series, patents, IR, web pages, articles in press, MEDLINE

Conference proceedings

Update Frequency daily daily

Alert Services RSS, email RSS, email

Bib Management Support RefWorks, EndNote, BibTex (all sold separately)

EndNote Web (included), ProCite, Reference Manager

References Included? Y Y

12 October 2009 Mary Abdoney

Special Features of Scopus• Author affiliation information• Citation Tracker• Affiliation identifier• Very simple subscription plan

12 October 2009 Mary Abdoney

Special Features of Web of Science• Cited Reference Searching• Arts and Humanities Citation Index• Perpetual access to backfiles• ???

12 October 2009 Mary Abdoney

It usually comes down to

$$$12 October 2009 Mary Abdoney

12 October 2009 Mary Abdoney

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