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CHEM 2025 fall 2023--Zito: Web of Science

Introductory sources and services for Dr. Zito's Chemistry 2025 students

Why Web of Science is So Influential

Web of Science is a unique and powerful database for many reasons. 

--It contains references from the three most complete indexes to scholarly publications--the Science Citation Index, the Social Sciences Citation Index, and the Humanities Citation Index. It now also includes indexes tracking scholarly literature from Russia, Asian, and Latin America among other newly important resources. BRAND NEW: references to dissertations all across the U.S

--It is the most authoritative source of bibliometrics--journal impact factor, article impact factor, and more. Bibliometrics is a way to measure the impact scholarship has through quantitative analysis of a publication's dissemination and resulting traces in the research community. 

--Crucial Feature(s) Alert: Forward citation chaining, backward citation chaining, and related records. See below for MORE!

--Making an account is the only way to access all the features WoS offers as well as their many training videos. 

Recommended: What is Citation Chaining?

One of Web of Science's primary strengths is the ability to use it for citation chaining, also called 'forward citation searching' and 'backward citation searching'. 

What are these mysterious, but useful concepts? In a nutshell, it's scholarship viewed as conversation between scholars revealing influence and scientific progress. 

Forward citation searching--Finding out whether a work has been cited after its publication will help you assess the importance of that work and how it has shaped subsequent research and scholarship.

forward citations for Sherman, Haidt, and Coan's (2009) article "Viewing cute images increases behavioral carefulness."From the Williams University Library's guide

 

Backward citation searching--Looking at the works cited by an author is called backward citation searching. The author's bibliography gives you a snapshot of the thinking and research available at the time of publication. It tells you what ideas or theories have influenced the author.

backward citations

 

WoS was the first database to offer it, but now there are a few other sources--Google Scholar, and some of the EBSCO databases (PlumX). Neither of those sources is as complete as WoS. 

Recommended: Finding Help Using Web of Science

--My PowerPoint intro is here--Brief Intro to Web of Science 

--Using your login to WoS opens up tutorials, instructions, and video links to learn about various features

-- I highly recommend the training videos and literature that Clarivate, the Web of Science' publisher offers and the Web of Science YouTube channel

--the University of Hawaii also offers a very thorough introductory to using Web of Science: Home - Getting the Most Out of Web of Science -