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Transition from Web of Science to Scopus: Subscription Details

Functionality Comparison

This table compares functions and other elements of either resource
  SCOPUS WEB OF SCIENCE
Update Frequency Daily Daily
Historical Coverage 1970 - Present 1945 - Present; If Century of Science backfile purchased, coverage back to 1900
Citation Overview Yes - Includes a broader range of fields than Web of Science Yes
Forward & Backward Citation Searching Yes Yes
Citation Results Analyzer Yes Yes
Citation & Article Alerts Yes Yes
Article-Level Metrics Citations, usage, captures, mentions, and social media Citations
Exporting Records 20,000 records with basic citation information; 2,000 records will full metadata 10,000 records with full metadata - only to Endnote Web; 500 records for all other exports
Compatible with UAVitae Yes - Use "Generic" import format (RIS / BibTeX) Yes - Use "Web of Science" import format
Author Search Yes - Searches algorithmic profile clusters Yes - Searches documents based on name, affiliation, and discipline.
Author Profiles Yes - Algorithmic + User refinement Yes - User created
H-Index Yes Yes
ORCID Integration Yes Yes
Journal Analyzer Yes - Included in Scopus No - Separate subscription to Journal Citation Reports [JCR] required

Coverage Comparison for NIU

Coverage comparison for NIU-produced research

NIU Records Scopus Web of Science
NIU Records (all years) 21838 22338
NIU Records (last 20 years: 2001-2020) 13163 11644

Coverage comparison for NIU-produced research by document type

Bar graph of coverage comparison for NIU-produced research by document type in Scopus and the Web of Science for 2001-2020 where Scopus has better coverage of NIU’s publications for articles, conference proceedings, book chapters and books, and the Web of Science has better coverage for reviews, meeting abstracts and editorials.

Search Methodology

  • Scopus: Search for Affiliation “21838” for northern Illinois University. Results limited for part to 2001-2020. No limits for language or document type. Search conducted by Alissa Droog on June 9, 2021.
  • Web of Science: Organization-Enhanced search for “northern Illinois university”. Results limited for part to 2001-2020. Not limits for language or document type. Search conducted by Alissa Droog on June 9, 2021.