{"id":30695,"date":"2020-09-28T14:00:11","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T08:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/?p=30695"},"modified":"2023-07-10T16:37:00","modified_gmt":"2023-07-10T10:37:00","slug":"science-citation-index-merges-into-science-citation-index-expanded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/science-citation-index-merges-into-science-citation-index-expanded\/","title":{"rendered":"How Are SCIE-Indexed Journals Different From SCI-Indexed Journals?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is time to publish! My data collection and analysis are complete, and I have what I believe is a significant story to share with the scientific community. Now I need to decide which journal to submit my manuscript to. This is not as easy as it sounds. There are the obvious criteria \u2013 such as the journal\u2019s subject focus \u2013 however, I would like to publish in a journal that will give my work maximum exposure to the research community. Therefore, I need a journal with a good reputation, indexed in a major electronic database such as the Science Citation Index (SCI). This gives my work a greater chance of being discovered and cited. It also gives me a way to track the opinion of other researchers about my research and how my paper contributed to the field as a whole.<\/p>\n

Indexing Background<\/h2>\n

The SCI is published by the International Scientific Information Inc<\/a> (ISI), who are part of Thomson & Reuters. Dr. Eugene Garfield created and launched in 1964 as science\u2019s first citation index for papers published in academic journals. Dr. Garfield\u2019s SCI became known as the \u201cWeb of Knowledge\u201d and later the \u201cWeb of Science\u201d. The SCI is more than just a database of journals and their articles. The SCI contains information on what each scientist has published, as well as links to papers that cite their work. This provides useful relationships in the literature, as one can easily find papers referenced by a scientist as well as how that work has progressed by reading the articles that cite it.<\/p>\n

Therefore, citation indexing of papers provides control of the literature. Eugene Garfield\u2019s vision<\/a> for indexing citations of scientific papers grew out of a concern for students unknowingly citing disputed data. He became aware that criticisms of papers could become lost and overlooked over time if they were not linked to the paper in question. A citation index provides a quick link to researchers\u2019 opinions on a paper and, therefore, improves the quality of information going forward. It assists in discussion of science.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe uncritical citation of disputed data by a writer, whether it be deliberate or not, is a serious matter. Of course, knowingly propagandizing unsubstantiated claims is particularly abhorrent, but just as many naive students may be swayed by unfounded assertions presented by a writer who is unaware of the criticisms. Buried in scholarly journals, critical notes are increasingly likely to be overlooked with the passage of time, while the studies to which they pertain, having been reported more widely, are apt to be rediscovered.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 Thomasson and Stanley,\u00a01955<\/p>\n

SCI Selection Criteria<\/h2>\n

Journals for the SCI database are selected according to 24 quality criteria and 4 impact criteria<\/a>. The basic principles include objectivity, selectivity and collection dynamics. These criteria ensure that the journals selected follow best practice and editorial thoroughness to make them the most respected and influential journals in their field. A journal’s citation indicates the journal\u2019s impact on its field of research. The selection process is performed by Web of Science editors who have no affiliations to publishing houses or research institutions to ensure unbiased selection. The Web of Science editors regularly monitor the journals to ensure continued compliance.<\/p>\n

Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) is Launched<\/h2>\n

Recently, Thomson & Reuters launched the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE). I was confused, what is the difference between SCI and SCIE? I was not alone; many researchers were asking the same question: \u201cWhy are there two journal lists: \u201cSCI\u201d and \u201cSCIE\u201d<\/a>? Is the SCIE, as its name implies, an expanded version of the SCI? Does that mean that SCI journals are superior to SCIE journals? If I have an article published in a SCIE journal, can I say my paper was published in a SCI journal? If SCI journals are included in SCIE, why have two databases?<\/p>\n

Two Databases, Similar Information<\/h2>\n

Initially, there was overlap between SCI and SCIE, as they were two separate databases. The SCIE contains a curated collection of over 9,200 journals that span 178 scientific disciplines. The SCI, on the other hand, comprised the most highly cited journals with the highest impact factors within the SCIE. Why not simply highlight the \u201ctop tier\u201d journals in SCIE, why create a new database?<\/p>\n

Thanks to researcher\u2019s chats on ResearchGate<\/a>, I discovered that SCI recently merged into SCIE. The difference between the two indexing databases was their storage media. CDs\/DVDs mostly stored SCI, whereas SCIE is stored online. This meant that the SCI had limited storage capacity and therefore housed fewer journals than the SCIE. Although this implies that SCI journals are the \u201celite\u201d of SCIE journals, the selection criteria for SCI and SCIE are the same.<\/p>\n

SCI has subsequently merged into SCIE and SCI was removed from the Clarivate Analytics master journal list<\/a>. This reduced overlap and simplified the collections of research. Therefore, Web of Science\u2019s collections of journals are now:<\/p>\n