IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/scient/v125y2020i3d10.1007_s11192-020-03704-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Disparities in document indexation in two databases (Scopus and Web of Science) among six subject domains, and the impact on journal-based metrics

Author

Listed:
  • Hilary I. Okagbue

    (Covenant University)

  • Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva

    (Independent Researcher)

  • Abiodun A. Opanuga

    (Covenant University)

Abstract

A previous study ( https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03457-x ) found a discrepancy between Elsevier’s CiteScore and Clarivate Analytics’ Journal Impact Factor (JIF) in library and information science (LIS) journals. One possibility to explain this discrepancy may lie in the number and type of documents used to calculate these journal-based metrics. Using the top quartile of Scopus-indexed journals from 2011 to 2018, we assessed the number of documents for each journal and year that were indexed in Scopus and in Web of Science (WoS) in six fields of study: LIS, discrete mathematics and combinatorics (DMC), medicine: epidemiology (ME), agriculture and biological sciences (ABS), social science: demography (SSD), and environmental engineering (EE). The number of documents in WoS was higher than those indexed in Scopus for four fields of study: LIS, ME, SSD and EE, with a difference of 1653, 3931, 635 and 197 documents, respectively. For DMC and ABS, Scopus listed more documents than WoS for the same years and journals, the differential being 7 and 1284, respectively. The greater indexing of documents in WoS than in Scopus in four fields of study may explain why the JIF of top-ranking LIS journals is different than their CiteScore. To verify this possibility, one category (DMC) was examined in detail. Of the 16 DMC journals examined, 91.1% were articles, while 8.9% of missing documents were corrections, an erratum, an editorial, an abstract report and in press articles. There were no significant differences between the citation patterns of the missing DMC journals’ documents in Scopus and WoS. Citations to missing documents may impact the CiteScore and JIF and should thus be properly indexed.

Suggested Citation

  • Hilary I. Okagbue & Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva & Abiodun A. Opanuga, 2020. "Disparities in document indexation in two databases (Scopus and Web of Science) among six subject domains, and the impact on journal-based metrics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(3), pages 2821-2825, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:125:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-020-03704-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-020-03704-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11192-020-03704-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11192-020-03704-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva & Aamir Raoof Memon, 2017. "CiteScore: A cite for sore eyes, or a valuable, transparent metric?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 111(1), pages 553-556, April.
    2. Chien Hsiang Liao & Mu-Yen Chen, 2018. "Exploring knowledge patterns of library and information science journals within the field: a citation analysis from 2009 to 2016," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(3), pages 1991-2008, December.
    3. Hilary I. Okagbue & Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva, 2020. "Correlation between the CiteScore and Journal Impact Factor of top-ranked library and information science journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 124(1), pages 797-801, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hui Fang, 2021. "Analysis of the new scopus CiteScore," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(6), pages 5321-5331, June.
    2. Weishu Liu & Meiting Huang & Haifeng Wang, 2021. "Same journal but different numbers of published records indexed in Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection: causes, consequences, and solutions," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(5), pages 4541-4550, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hilary I. Okagbue & Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva, 2020. "Correlation between the CiteScore and Journal Impact Factor of top-ranked library and information science journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 124(1), pages 797-801, July.
    2. Raminta Pranckutė, 2021. "Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus: The Titans of Bibliographic Information in Today’s Academic World," Publications, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-59, March.
    3. Lang Jia & Wenjuan Wang & Francis Zvomuya & Hailong He, 2024. "Trends in Soil Science over the Past Three Decades (1992–2022) Based on the Scientometric Analysis of 39 Soil Science Journals," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-32, March.
    4. Zoltán Krajcsák, 2021. "Researcher Performance in Scopus Articles ( RPSA ) as a New Scientometric Model of Scientific Output: Tested in Business Area of V4 Countries," Publications, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-23, October.
    5. Aniruddha Maiti & Sai Shi & Slobodan Vucetic, 2023. "An ablation study on the use of publication venue quality to rank computer science departments," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(8), pages 4197-4218, August.
    6. Weisheng Chiu & Thomas Chun Man Fan & Sang-Back Nam & Ping-Hung Sun, 2021. "Knowledge Mapping and Sustainable Development of eSports Research: A Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-17, September.
    7. Mingkun Wei, 2020. "Research on impact evaluation of open access journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 122(2), pages 1027-1049, February.
    8. Juliana A. Ivar do Sul & Alexander S. Tagg & Matthias Labrenz, 2018. "Exploring the common denominator between microplastics and microbiology: a scientometric approach," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(3), pages 2145-2157, December.
    9. Ana Teresa Santos & Sandro Mendonça, 2022. "Do papers (really) match journals’ “aims and scope”? A computational assessment of innovation studies," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(12), pages 7449-7470, December.
    10. Russell Tatenda Munodawafa & Satirenjit Kaur Johl, 2019. "A Systematic Review of Eco-Innovation and Performance from the Resource-Based and Stakeholder Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-23, November.
    11. Pooyan Makvandi & Anahita Nodehi & Franklin R. Tay, 2021. "Conference Accreditation and Need of a Bibliometric Measure to Distinguish Predatory Conferences," Publications, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-5, April.
    12. Torres-Salinas, Daniel & Valderrama-Baca, Pilar & Arroyo-Machado, Wenceslao, 2022. "Is there a need for a new journal metric? Correlations between JCR Impact Factor metrics and the Journal Citation Indicator—JCI," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3).
    13. Xie, Qing & Zhang, Xinyuan & Song, Min, 2021. "A network embedding-based scholar assessment indicator considering four facets: Research topic, author credit allocation, field-normalized journal impact, and published time," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4).
    14. Dzieżyc, Maciej & Kazienko, Przemysław, 2022. "Effectiveness of research grants funded by European Research Council and Polish National Science Centre," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1).
    15. Yang, Jinqing & Liu, Zhifeng, 2022. "The effect of citation behaviour on knowledge diffusion and intellectual structure," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1).
    16. Meho, Lokman I., 2019. "Using Scopus’s CiteScore for assessing the quality of computer science conferences," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 419-433.
    17. Yves Fassin, 2021. "Does the Financial Times FT50 journal list select the best management and economics journals?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(7), pages 5911-5943, July.
    18. Judit Dobránszki & Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva, 2019. "Corrective factors for author- and journal-based metrics impacted by citations to accommodate for retractions," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 121(1), pages 387-398, October.
    19. Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva, 2021. "CiteScore: risk of copy-cat, fake and misleading metrics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(2), pages 1859-1862, February.
    20. Zhihong Huang & Qianjin Zong & Xuerui Ji, 2022. "The associations between scientific collaborations of LIS research and its policy impact," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(11), pages 6453-6470, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:125:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-020-03704-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.