Web of Science Web of Science is a comprehensive online database providing access to academic journals, conference proceedings and books in the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities, from 1970 onwards. The Journal Citation Reports database is also available via this service. In addition to standard searches by topic or author, Web of Science provides a citation search facility, which can be extremely useful to those wishing to follow the development of new ideas, theories and discussions. This database is available on and off campus and may be accessed from Databases A-Z in the Electronic Library at https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/microsites/library/resources/electronic-library 1. Searching Type your keywords into the Basic Search box and select the relevant search field from the drop-down box (usually Topic). Further search tips are over the page. +Add Another Field if required. Select Timespan (publication date) if required (see example below). www.ljmu.ac.uk/library LIBRARY SERVICES
2. Search Tips 2.1. Boolean Operators Boolean search operators AND, OR and NOT link your keywords together and enable you to search more effectively. AND Narrows your search to only find records which contain all search terms: e.g. sport AND motivation OR Widens your search to find records containing any of your alternative search terms, but not necessarily all: e.g. training OR conditioning NOT Excludes part of a topic or specific terms from a search (use with caution): e.g. coaching NOT football 2.2. Phrases You can search for an exact phrase of two or more words by surrounding it with quotation marks e.g. motor skills. This will ensure that the database only retrieves records where these words appear together as a phrase. 2.3. Truncation An asterisk * is a truncation symbol that can be used after the first few characters of a word to include all varying endings of that word in a search: e.g. perform* will find perform, performer, performers, performing, performance etc 2.4. Wildcards A wildcard symbol can be used within a word as a character substitute, to account for differences in spelling:? for a single character e.g. organi?ation will find organization and organisation $ for zero or one character e.g. behavio$r will find behavior and behaviour 2.5. Alternative Search Terms If you are struggling to find information on a given topic try changing your search terms to include alternative keywords e.g. food OR diet OR nutrition 2.6. Search Limits You can limit your initial search by Timespan (publication date). After clicking on search there are more options to Refine Results e.g. Web of Science Categories, Document Type
Languages etc. This will help you to find the most relevant research quickly and easily, filtering out any results which are not fully focused on your search topic. 3. Displaying Results Search results are sorted by Publication Date newest to oldest although the order may be changed to Relevance or Times Cited using the drop down menu at the top of the results screen if you prefer. The total number of results is shown in the top left corner of the search results page. Use the forwards and backwards arrows to move from page to page. Click on the title of the article to view more publication details. Click on the icon underneath each item to check if full-text access is available. The search results above have been sorted by Times Cited highest to lowest. You can see (on the right hand side) that the article at the top has been cited 89 times. This means that 89 other articles in the database have referred to (or cited) this paper. The higher the Times Cited total, the more highly regarded the article is likely to be. 4. Print /Email/Save You can print, email or save selected records from the list of search results. To Print or Email individual records tick the checkbox next to the item record and then click on the print or email icon at the top of the search results page. To Print, Email or Save multiple records tick the checkboxes next to all relevant records and click Add to Marked List. An orange tick will appear next to each item record which has been successfully added to your Marked List (Folder). To view your list click Marked List at the top of the screen. There are then three stages:
Step 1 - select which records you want Step 2 - select the content you wish to include Step 3 - select destination print, email or save to Endnote desktop Item records are stored temporarily in the Marked List for the duration of your internet browsing session. You can register for a free personal account with the database to permanently save record details. 5. Export Citations You can export records from Web of Science into EndNote bibliographic software to manage your research and to help you with referencing. Add records you wish to export into your Marked List as per the instructions above. From your Marked List, tick the checkboxes next to the required records. In Step 3 click on the drop down menu and select Save to EndNote Desktop from the drop down menu. Internet Explorer the references should be automatically sent to your EndNote Library, however if a toolbar appears prompting you to Open or Save the record. Click Open. Chrome an export option will appear at the bottom of your internet browser, click on the ^ arrow to open the File Menu. Click Open. The detailed reference for each item will be sent to your EndNote Library. You may view the reference in your chosen referencing. Web of Science will only send the bibliographic details for each item record into EndNote e.g. author, title, source, abstract. You can check if full-text is available within EndNote and also store full-text PDF documents in your EndNote Library. Click on a specific reference or select all references in the library (press Ctrl and A), choose References on the menu bar and then Find Full Text. EndNote will search online and download any available full-text. The full-text PDF will be automatically attached and a paper clip will appear next to the reference to indicate that there is an attachment. You may use the references you have downloaded into EndNote to cite while you write. EndNote enables you to easily insert references into the body of the text and create a full reference list for your assignments using the Insert Citation icon on the toolbar, (there is a full Endnote guide and online tutorial available).
6. Special Features e.g. search alerts You can save your searches and set up database alerts to notify you when new resources matching your search criteria are published. This helps you to keep up-to-date with research and new developments/innovations in your subject area. You will need to register for a free personal account in order to use this feature. To set-up an alert perform your search and then click Create Alert at the top left side of the results page. Sign in to your personal account. Name your search alert and choose how frequently you would like to receive email notifications about new resources e.g. weekly, monthly. Alerts will stay active until you delete them. You can manage your alerts or make changes by logging into your personal account, clicking on My Tools at the top of the screen and then Saved Searches and Alerts. 7. Further Help In the Web of Science database further guidance is available using the HELP button on the toolbar. Advanced help on searching the database and improving your digital skills is also available. Please contact your Academic Liaison Librarian to book a one-to-one appointment at: https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/microsites/library/learner-support/subject-support. You can view a useful range of online tutorials, videos and guides from our LibrarySkills@LJMU webpage. Guide Updated: September 2017 By: Jan Burrell