by Are you looking for a bibliographic database to publish your latest research papers? Web of Science and Scopus are widely renowned in the academic world for scholarly access to leading research. These are used for the publication of metadata and act as an indicator for research evaluation and industry relevance.
However, these indexing differ in terms of convenience, interface, performance, impact and additional tools. Therefore, it is important to select the best one that suits your needs as a student, scholar, and researcher.
By reading this blog, you can get complete insights into the Web of Science indexed journals Scopus.
What is Scopus?
Scopus is well known in the academic field for its abstract and citation database. It was launched by Elsevier and has over 27000 peer-reviewed journals and over 11.7 million conference papers. Researchers can find great value here, as it has over 49 million patents to safeguard their creative work. There are over 149000 web of conferences Scopus that actively encourage the submission of papers.
Unlike Web of Science, Scopus is a single citation index and covers comprehensive research in scientific, technical, medical, and social science fields. Global authors trust Scopus as it provides information on citations. This way, you can figure out how many times an article is cited. Moreover, it also provides detailed metrics to evaluate the value of and reach of your research through the h-index, SJR, and SNIP.
What is the Web of Science?
The aim of Web of Science is to offer trusted insights in analytics and increase the pace of innovation. Launched in 1960, it is known for its pristine journal selection. It has a strong coverage in mathematics, medicine, natural science, technology, and engineering. Covering over 20,0000 journals across the globe, WOS has 100 million records that are classified into journal articles, book chapters, patents, and esteemed conference papers.
The detailed citation of WOS includes Journal Citation Reports (JCR), which publishes the widely used Journal Impact Factor. It has over 300,000 conferences and over 21,000 peer-reviewed journals. The following are some core collections of indices offered by this WOS:
- Science Citation Index
- Social Sciences Citation Index
- Arts & Humanities Citation Index
- Conference Proceedings Citation Index
- Book Citation Index
- Emerging Sources Citation Index
Key Differences in Web of Science and Scopus
Scopus Web of Science journals have some differences, which are as follows:
Coverage
Before you select which database is best for your research, understand its coverage. Web of Science usually has more selective procedures and prefers a qualitative approach. Its coverage is excellent and dates back to 1900, making it a more trusted source. In comparison to this, Scopus offers broader coverage including social sciences, arts, humanities, and emerging disciplines.
Moreover, Scopus is a newer database and is usually best for publications from non-English speaking countries. This widens its reach to high-value international research. Therefore, if you want a more historically strong approach in subjects like natural sciences, mathematics, engineering, and medicine, WOB is best. However, Scopus can provide better coverage for more interdisciplinary research.
Research Impact
Understanding citation metrics involves knowing the various tools used by Scopus and Web of Science. It can help you evaluate the research impact of each database. The following are the metrics used by Scopus for journal evaluation:
- CiteScore is used to determine the average citations for each document published in a journal every 4 years.
- SCImago Journal Rank helps in the citations based on its prestige.
- Source Normalised Impact Per Paper (SNIPP) helps to see the differences in citation patterns in various fields.
The following are the metrics for the Web of Science database:
- Journal Impact Factor (JIF) helps in measuring the frequency of average articles cited in a year.
- The Article Influence Score measures the influence of a journal based on citations from five years ago. In this, the weightage of highly cited journals is given more preference.
- H-index in WOS is calculated based on its indexed publications.
While looking for Web of Science indexed journals Scopus 2025, remember that the two platforms handle self-citations very differently. While Scopus includes self-citation in the detailed analyses, Web of Science allows you to exclude self-citations. However, some research does find this a more authentic representation of the external impact.
Search Functionality and Interface
For a database to be practically useful, its UI can have a major impact. This can affect how you interact with the platform and find what you are looking for. Scopus is a more modern website that includes clean features and an intuitive, user-friendly interface. It uses a basic search function along with some straightforward advanced filtering options. You can easily identify key authors, trends, and important journals in your specific industry and research area. Many researchers and scholars appreciate these quick results.
Web of Science is more traditional as it is older than Scopus. The user may find it to be less intuitive as it requires getting used to. However, it does offer more in-depth capabilities, which can be extremely useful for researchers. Using field tags, you can find very precise queries which benefit academic findings.
Moreover, WOS can allow citation paths backwards and forward in time using the unique Cited Reference Search feature. It is important to note that Scopus profiles are comprehensive and may require fewer manual corrections compared to Web of Science.
Cost and Accessibility
Cost is a major consideration while selecting these two databases for various research projects. Although both Scopus and WOS use a subscription-based model, there are some differences. Scholars mostly access these databases through their research institutions and universities. The subscription cost changes depending on the number of users, collections in the package, and the size of your institution.
Web of Science is usually costlier than Scopus; however, pricing may be negotiated between institutions. Institutions must select which database to prioritise, making the collection limited within each platform. However, researchers without any institutional access can find free options available. If you are on a limited budget, it is easy to find Web of Science indexed journals Scopus 2025 free.
Scopus allows authors to find free journals through a basic lookup in Scopus preview. Science and medicine niche universities can benefit from Web of Science, while stronger social subjects prefer Scopus. Other than this, institutions with limited budgets choose a platform focusing on their primary research areas. Although if you are from a developing country, both platforms can provide free access or a discount to eligible institutions with proper justification.
How to Find Scopus and Web of Science Journals?
It can be difficult to find a journal indexing without an official source. Use these expert tips to find relevant Scopus and Web of Science journals for research paper publication.
- An easy way to find Scopus-indexed journals is through their official website. You can visit (https://www.scopus.com/sources) to find relevant journals in your niche. Start by typing the journal name, topic, or niche to find the relevant results.
- Scopus Sources list is another great way to find a publicly available list of journals. These journals are updated in the Scopus database so that you can trust their authenticity. However, to be safe, you can contact the Scopus helpline to know about any latest changes.
- The journal website can sometimes mention whether they are indexed with Scopus. If you are unsure about the indexing, check the affiliation with Scopus through the official website by adding the journal number.
- Another way to find Scopus journals is through university and library listings. These may be on a subscription model, so you can ask the concerned authorities.
- You can also regularly attend conferences that are certified with Scopus. During these events, you may find publications that are indexed in Scopus willing to accept your research papers.
- To find Web of Science journals, it is best to access the Journal Citation Reports (JCR). Here you can search for a journal by its name and check its indexing status.
- If you want an authentic list of journals associated with Web of Science, it is best to use the Master Journal List. Web of Science issues this list, which contains a database of indexing. Simply add the journal name; if it comes up in this list, it’s indexed with WOS.
Final Words
There is no single choice when it comes to the academic database. It depends on the personal needs of the author and which platform can serve you better at a particular time. Moreover, your choice can depend on finding a relevant journal that comes closest to your research topic. For example, by searching for the Web of Science journals list PDF 2025 you can access the latest journals. This way, it becomes easier to select a journal in your niche and publish your research papers.
