Database Guide - Web of Science

Web of Science is not just for scientists. It is an interface which allows searching of a number of multidisciplinary databases covering sciences, social sciences, and arts & humanities. It is designed to support scientific and scholarly research.

There are databases with a document type focus like Derwent Innovations Index (patents) and Data Citation Index (datasets and data studies), databases with a specific subject focus like Medline and BIOSIS Citation Index (for life sciences), and databases highlighting content from specific regions.

Web of Science Core Collection is the core resource on the platform and includes over 21,000 peer-reviewed, high-quality scholarly journals published worldwide (including Open Access journals); over 205,000 conference proceedings; and over 104,000 editorially selected books. Web of Science also allows you to explore the citation connections between content.

Web of Science can provide graphic views of results, for example, by date or field of research. It provides information on research output of specific authors. Users can analyse research being published in a given field, and identify possible affiliations, collaborations or funding sources.

• To access Web of Science, go to LibrarySearch
• Log in using your CCCU username and password. If you are away from campus, or connecting with your own device over Wi-Fi, you will need to include @canterbury.ac.uk after your CCCU username [username@canterbury.ac.uk] as well as your normal CCCU password.
• Select Find Databases A-Z, click on W, then click on the link to Web of Science to open it in a new tab.
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You can search across all the databases provided via Web of Science. However, we recommend starting with Web of Science Core Collection from the drop down menu.

Register/log in to personalise Web of Science. You can save searches and articles, and create alerts.

Type your search terms into the search box.
• Use the default option of ‘Topic’ from the drop-down menu to search in the title, abstract and keyword fields.
• Use double speech marks to search for an exact phrase. Combine terms using ‘OR’ to broaden your search.
• Focus the search by adding more rows for new concepts.
• Once you've searched for something, you can use the filters on the left hand-side to refine the results, for example by topic, year or author.

Viewing your search results
• Click on ‘Find it’ to see if the full text is available via the library or try ‘Full Text from Publisher’. 
• Click on the item link or 'Show more’ to view a short summary of the item.

Saving the results of your search
• Tick the box next to any reference you want to save. Then, using the ‘Export’ option, located at the top of the result list, choose to print, email or push to reference management software.
• If you are saving numerous references over several pages of results, click ‘Add to Marked List’ at the end of each page. Then go to ‘Marked List’ from the button near the top of the screen and follow the three-step instructions.

Try searching Web of Science by following the steps outlined below. This will help you to familiarise yourself with some of the most common functions:

1. 1. Try searching across Web of Science Core Collection for sustainability. To search by subject you can choose Topic from the drop down box.
   2. How many results did you find? Think about how you can refine your results to ensure they are right for you.
   3. You might want to make sure you are only accessing articles that are current and up-to-date. Try adjusting the publication years to refine results to the last 3 years.
   4. Depending on the type of research you are conducting, you might want to refine by document type. If your research has an academic focus you might want to refine to Articles. Or you might be interested in conference proceedings papers for an industry focus.
   5. Try adding a row to add further search terms, for example sustainability AND design. How many results do you have now? You can also refine the subject area by refining by Web of Science Categories.
   6. Take a look at the Authors list. Can you identify the authors who have written the most about this subject? You might want to explore their work further using Author Search.
   7. Find an interesting article from your results list and see if you can access the full-text of the article. There will be Free Full Text from Publisher links to those items available via the CCCU subscription.
   8. Think about other search terms you might use to research this topic, for example, green design or eco-friendly design. Try alternative searches and compare results.

For accessibility information for this resource please see https://wok.mimas.ac.uk/other/accessibility.html or go directly to the Web of Science Voluntary Product Accessibility Template

Your Learning and Research Librarian will be able to help you make the best use of online resources. For detailed guidance, book a tutorial via the Learning Skills Hub.