What is Web of Science?
Web of Science is a literature database for articles in all academic disciplines. It is also a citation index, allowing you to see how often and by whom an article has been cited.
Where do I find Web of Science?
You can access Web of Science through LibSearch. The database is accessible to students and employees of the Vrije Universiteit. You may be prompted to log in with your VUnetID.
Access to articles
In Web of Science you will find the bibliographic data of an article, such as its title, journal name, abstract, keywords, etc. To access the full text, click on a link below the search result: 'context sensitive links' or 'Full text at publisher'. Another option is to copy and paste the title of the article into Google Scholar's search bar.
Pros:
- Articles you find are of high scientific standard. There are quality criteria before articles are included in the database, for example, thorough Peer Review.
- When you search with keywords, you find fewer publications than in Google Scholar. What you find, however, is often more relevant.
- Many opportunities to refine your search. Filters allow you to limit the number of search results.
Cons:
- If you're looking for books, it's better to search another database, such as LibSearch, Google Books or a subject bibliography.
- In Web of Science, you will by no means find all publications on a particular topic. You will only find articles published in journals that meet certain quality standards. It is recommended to use another literature database in addition to Web of Science.
- Web of Science is an English-language database. You won't find much Dutch-language literature in it (but you will find English-language literature about the Netherlands and English-language literature by Dutch researchers).
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