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Database Search Tips: Web of Science
This guide will help get you started in some of our most popular databases! Happy searching! Let us know if we can help.
Toggle Dropdown
Getting Started with Your Search
Type of Literature Reviews
Finding Full-Text
Getting Help
Selecting a Database
Toggle Dropdown
Articles
Clinical
Drugs
Education
Nursing
Research Impact
CINAHL
Cochrane Library
DynaMed
Education Full Text
Embase
ERIC
Global Health
JCR Impact Factors
Johns Hopkins ABX Guide
Lexidrug
Lippincott Advisor
Lippincott Procedures
NatMedPro
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
PsycINFO
PubMed/MEDLINE (opens new tab)
Sociology Abstracts
Sociology Source Ultimate
Scopus
SportDiscus
UpToDate
VisualDx
Web of Science
About
Web of Science
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Web of Science covers more than 34,000 journals across the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities disciplines across its databases. It includes additional citation types like data sets, patents, conference proceedings, and books, dating back to 1900.
Most useful for
Keyword searching (no worrying about subject headings!)
Citation tracking
Journal indexing
Getting Started
Web of Science Tutorial provided by Duke Medical Center Library
Searching Web of Science (15 min video)
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Web of Science Tutorials provided by Clarivate
Web of Science User Guide
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An in-depth PDF to help you get started with Web of Science's features.
Web of Science Training Resources
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A collection of training resources, including pre-recorded webinars, quick reference PDF guides, self-guided interactive courses, and links to sign up for live training.
Web of Science YouTube page
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A list of all of Clarivate's Web of Science training videos.
Basic Searching Instructions
Web of Science does not have subject headings. You can search by keywords easily in the Basic Search.
Searching with Basic Search
1. Enter words or
phrases
that describe your topic in the search box. The
dropdown box in front of the query box
will allow you to
search for terms in different fields of the database
, such as a Title or Keyword search combined with an author search. To widen your search as much as possible, select
All Fields
2. You can click
+Add Row
and add additional words or phrases in subsequent boxes. Be sure to choose the correct term to combine the boxes:
OR
will find references with any of the search terms. Use
OR
to broaden your search.
AND
will find references with all the search terms. Use
AND
to narrow your search.
3. Click search.
4. View your search history by expanding the menu on the left side of the page, and then click History.
5. If you would like to search each concept one at a time or combine multiple rows you have already searched, you can! From the History page, you can navigate to the Advanced Search, which allows you to combine multiple search queries.
Limiting/Refining your Combined Search Results
Web of Science has extensive
filtering options
The results filters are on the left side of the results page.
Common filters include
Publication Years
and
Document Types (see image to right)
Sorting Results
Web of Science also has extensive
sorting
options: see image
below
. Choose Sort By: at the top right corner of the results box and choose from the dropdown. Popular sorting options include
Relevance
Date: newest first
, and
Citations: highest first
. Remember,
not all highly cited papers are reliable or accurate papers
! Use your best judgement.
Saving your Searches
1. To easily send the search query (to yourself or others), click "copy query link" underneath the search bar at the top of the results page.
2. To save searches or citations within Web of Science, first
create an account
by clicking the
purple "Register" button
at the top right of the page.
3. To save the
search query
, click the
Create Alert
button to the right side of the search query. You can click "Rerun search" to run the search again in the future.
4. Web of Science allows you to save the entire results list, a range of citations, all citations on one page, or specific citations from a search. To save the entire results list, a range of citations, or all citations on one page, simply click the
Add to Marked List
button and fill out the form as desired. To save specific citations, click the radio buttons next to those citations, then click the Add to Marked List button.
5. You can access your Marked Lists and Saved Searches from the menu on the left side of the page (you may have to expand the menu).
Steps to Find Full-Text Articles
1. Look for full-text in Duke collections
2. Look for free full-text
3. Place an interlibrary loan request
Databases (e.g., PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Lexicomp, etc.)
There may be several different full-text links for you to try from publisher links to the blue GetIt@Duke button. Each database looks a bit different or has different options.
Duke Libraries Search Widget
If you were unable to get to the full-text through the database you were searching, try using the Duke Libraries Search Widget. Search the full title of the article and try any of the full-text links. If there are none, you can try looking for free full text (Step #2).
E-Journals
If you were unable to get to the full-text through the database you were searching, you can search for the specific E-Journal to see if Duke has access. (NOTE: You will need the article citation to look for full-text access.)
Search the name of the journal; then, browse to determine if the library subscribes to the specific year. Select the first link that includes the year the article was published. Each publisher website will look different. Find the specific year, volume, and issue that you need and then look for your specific article title.
If you are unable to find full-text articles using the links below, you will need to order it via InterLibrary Loan (Step #3).
Google Scholar
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1. Make sure your Google Scholar is connected to Duke, as this will give you the Get It @ Duke button. To do this: In Google Scholar > Settings > Library links > Search for Duke > Check all that apply and Save.
2. If you are retrieving too many results, try putting the article title in quotes and / or adding the author last name.
Google
For difficult to find citations, try regular Google.
1. Use the same techniques of putting the title in quotes and adding author information if needed.
Before making a request for full-text articles through Interlibrary Loan (ILL), please try steps #1 and #2 to search for the full-text. This allows our service to focus on articles that are not available for free nor via our Duke subscriptions. Our Interlibrary Loan service is no charge to Duke borrowers for all article requests. If there are copyright or other fees associated with your article request, we will contact you.
Find the article citation in a database:
If you aren't already in a database, go back to PubMed or other database such as CINAHL, Embase, or Web of Science to look up the article. Why? Because our Get it @ Duke button will fill out the ILL form for you with all the article information – this saves you time and ensures greater citation accuracy.
Click the GetIt@Duke button:
Once you locate the article in a citation database, click the Get It @ Duke link.
Select second button to request as Med Center User:
From the page that says “We don't have this online — see below for other ways to get it” click the green button that says “Request – Med Center users.”
Log on with your DHE / NetID username and password:
This will take you to the ILL form. The article information will be filled into the form automatically. Scroll to the bottom, verify accuracy, and click submit.
If you can't find the citation in a database or you don't see a GetIt@Duke button, you can place a request manually through our interlibrary loan service. Follow the steps below.
Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery Request page
First, log in with your DHE Active directory username and password (NetID/pw).
Next, in the left hand menu, click New Request > Article/Chapter
Finally, fill out the required fields; please take care to ensure accuracy as incorrect citations may cause your order to be delayed or cancelled.
Questions about Interlibrary Loan?
All interlibrary loan questions should go to Louis Wiethe, Document Delivery & Interlibrary Loan Manager, 919.660.1179 or
louis.wiethe@duke.edu
Web of Science: Get Search and Citation Alerts
Web of Science
Web of Knowledge Account
A Web of Knowledge account allows you to save searches, access EndNote Web, and create search and citation alerts for Web of Science and other Thomson Reuters databases (BIOSIS Citation Index, Journal Citation Reports)
Create an account by clicking the "Sign in" link on the menu bar in Web of Science
Create search alert
Sign-in to your Web of Knowledge account
Run search in Web of Science, choose any filters that you wish to apply to your search
Click the "Create Alert/RSS" button in the upper left corner of your results page
Enter a name for your search, click the box next to "Email alerts" and select the type, format and frequency you would like to receive
Click "Save"
You will begin to receive emails when new citations that meet your search criteria become available
Create citation alert
Sign-in to your Web of Knowledge account
Perform a search for the article(s) for which you wish to receive citation alerts
Click on the title of the article to view the full record
In the box on the right side of the full record page, click "Create Citation Alert"
The article will be added to your My Cited Articles list and you will automatically receive an email each time the article is cited
To view and edit your citation alerts, click the "My Citation Alerts" link in the menu bar at the top of any Web of Science page
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