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Powered by ISI Web of Knowledge, the Web of Science database is a collection of three cross-searchable databases:
You can search for current and retrospective information, by topic, author, etc. The Web of Science is particularly good for citation searching, to discover how many times a particular author or article has been cited and by whom, and to locate later works which cite a specific article.
Access Web of Science here or find it via Search Tools: Find Databases. Remote access to Web of Science is available to any current University of Michigan student, staff or faculty.
You may:
a) Select a search option -
| General Search | Use to search for topic, author, journal, author address |
| Cited Ref Search | Use to find articles that cite another author |
| Advanced Search | Allows for queries with field tags and set combinations |
Quick Search is available from this screen, but it is only one search window, so search terms need to be very basic. For example: SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome ; learning and memory
b) Select one or more databases and timespan. Note that SCI, SSCI and AHCI begin in different years, so there is no overlap for certain decades. If you decide to change the timespan or switch databases, you may do so during the search process.
WOS is not case sensitive. Keep search terms relatively simple. Complex searches can be divided into separate topic searches and then combined (see below). Searches can also be made on the article title by checking the Title box to the right of the search window.
WOS contains the names of all authors associated with an article. The most common way to search for an author is to type in Last Name, First Initial followed by an asterisk (*). E.g. Smith J* The asterisk allows for all initials after the first one. WOS inputs an author's name exactly as it appears in the article. By inserting the asterisk, all variations of the author's name are included in the search. Some examples of how author names should appear in the search window:
Smith J*
Smith JA (if you are certain the author consistently publishes with both initials)
da Silva B* OR Dasilva B*
O'Brian C* OR Obrian C*
Variant spellings:
Schroder OR Schroeder
Zhuang J OR Zhang J
An alternative to typing in the author name is to use the Author Index located next to the Author search window.
This refers to organizations or institutions as authors, not to multiple individuals as authors. An alternative to typing the group author name is to search the Group Author Index located next to the search window.
The Source Title refers to the journal title. While WOS allows for a full or truncated version to be used, it is easiest to refer to the Full Source Titles List.
Enter an institution name, place name or zip code from the author's address to search for records based on publications made at that address. Use the Abbreviations index for help if necessary.
You may create a new search by combining any number of previous searches. To do this, click on the Search History box located at the top of the screen. A new window will open with a list of all your searches. Each search you have done is assigned a set number. Select any combination. Your choice will yield a new set. Click on the Results number to view the records.
Combining searches can let you eliminate self-citations from your search set. Do a cited reference search on your author, and a general search on the same author. Then combine searches to search (cited reference search results) NOT (general search results)
After a search is run, WOS will display a list of records. The total number will appear near the top of the screen. To view any record, click on the title. Among other things, all records will show the article title, author(s), source, document type, language, usually an abstract, keywords, cited references, times cited, and related records.
Cited References refers to the author's bibliography. Times Cited refers to later citations of this article. Related Records displays articles that cite the same works or have a subject relationship with the original (parent) record. You can toggle back and forth any of these features, or return to General Search.
These instructions apply to results from both General Search and Cited Reference searching.
For additional help, please contact a science reference librarian, Science Research Consultation, or use the Ask Us service.
Handout created by Betsy Williams, Shapiro Science Library
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© The Regents of the University of Michigan, 2007.
