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Presenter:

Dr. Wim Meester

Head of Product Management, Scopus

Why Scopus content is

relevant to you

February 18, 2016

Moderator:

Susanne Steiginga

Product Manager Scopus Content

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Agenda for today’s webinar

• Why Scopus content coverage gives you a comprehensive view on global research

• What we do to ensure that Scopus content is of the best quality standard: content selection policy

• What we do to ensure Scopus content continues to be trustable: Ongoing data quality and content curation initiatives

• How to use research metrics and why Scopus offers a basket of metrics

• Short tutorial: Finding relevant content in the Scopus database

• What to look out for in 2016

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How Scopus content helps you do research

Find out what already exists in the global world of research output

Determine how to differentiate your research topic and find new ideas

Decide what, where and with whom to partner or collaborate with

Identify and analyze which journals to submit your article; get published

Track impact of your research; monitor global research trends

Manage your career through citation counts and h-index (and other metrics)

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How Scopus content helps you do research

Find out what already exists in the global world of research output

Determine how to differentiate your research topic and find new ideas

Decide what, where and with whom to partner or collaborate with

Identify and analyze which journals to submit your article; get published

Track impact of your research; monitor global research trends

Manage your career through citation counts and h-index (and other metrics)

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Why Scopus content coverage

gives you a comprehensive view

on global research

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Scopus content has evolved over the last 12 years

Bio-base (since 1994)

Medline (since 1966; later: OLDMEDLINE 1949-1965)

2004 1970 1996

Compendex (since 1970)

Geobase (since 1980)

Embase (since 1974)

1823 2016

2016: 22,460 active titles

Add new titles via

evaluation process

by the Content

Selection & Advisory

Board (CSAB)

Cited references expansion back to 1970

And backfill to Volume 1 / Issue 1

2004: commercial launch

Scopus

1996: cited reference going

back to 1996

1970: in process of adding

cited references back

to 1970

1823: content going

back as far as 1823

Cited references going back to 1996

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JOURNALS

Scopus includes content from more than 5,000

publishers and 105 different countries

21,568 peer-reviewed

journals

361 trade journals

Full metadata, abstracts and

cited references (ref’s post-

1995 only)

Physical

Sciences

7,443

Health

Sciences

6,795

Social

Sciences

8,086

Life

Sciences

4,492

90K conference events

7.3M conference papers

Mainly Engineering and

Computer Sciences

531 book series

30K Volumes / 1.2M items

119,882 stand-alone books

974K items

Focus on Social Sciences and

A&H

61M records from 22K serials, 90K conferences and 120K books

• Updated daily

• “Articles in Press” from > 3,750 titles

• 40 different languages covered

• 3,715 active Gold Open Access journals indexed

BOOKS CONFERENCES

Source: November 2015 title list at https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/scopus/content

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Unbiased, comprehensive journal coverage with titles

from many reputable scholarly publishers 10%

8%

5%

5%

2%

1%

1%

1%

1%

1%

1%

1%

Other

60%

Source: November 2015 title list at https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/scopus/content

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Increasing coverage of conference papers with

focus on Engineering and Computer Sciences

ignores significant evidence of accomplishment in

computer science and engineering. CRA expresses

appreciation for the steps Elsevier has taken to

improve the coverage of Scopus in recent years.”

Coverage years

• Backfill to 2005

Number of conferences

• Around 1,000 new conference titles, 6,000 conference events, 400K conference papers and 5M references

Which conferences

• Serial and one-off conferences from authoritative, respected lists. Focus on engineering and engineering-related subject fields

“Relying on journal

publications as the sole

demonstration of

scholarly achievement,

Engineering

Computer Sciences

Physics and Astronomy

Materials Science

Mathematics

Other

Breakdown of conference papers in Scopus

per subject field (7,285,226 total):

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Increasing coverage of books with focus on Social

Sciences and Arts & Humanities

Routledge T&F

Cambridge UP

Springer

Wiley Blackwell Oxford UP

Elsevier

Nova Science

Ashgate

Princeton UP

Edward Elgar

Other

In addition to 30K book

volumes from series, 120K

books loaded in Scopus. 15

– 20K new books per year

going forward

Source: January 2016 Books Title list at https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/scopus/content

A&H

Social Sciences

Business

Medicine

Engineering

Agricultural & Bio Sciences

Psychology

Comp Science

Economics

Biochemistry

Other

Scopus books coverage breakdown per subject field: Scopus books coverage breakdown per publisher:

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Adding cited references to pre-1996 items in Scopus

Already 6M pre-1996 documents

loaded in Scopus leading to

additional 107M cited references

Coverage years

• Pre-1996, going back to 1970

Number of articles

• Around 6M+ articles will be re-processed to include cited references. In addition around 4M pre-1996 articles will be backfilled

Scope • Archives from major publishers

with available digital archives

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Documents published between: 1996 - 2016

Number of publications: 40

Number of citations: 782

h-index: 13

h-index of researchers who started publishing before

1996 is increasing

Gerard ‘t Hooft (Nobel prize in Physics, 1999)

Documents published between: 1971 - 2016

Number of publications: 110

Number of citations: 23,134

h-index: 43

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What we do to ensure that Scopus

content is of the best quality

standard: content selection policy

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Coverage of high quality journals due to selection by the

independent Content Selection & Advisory Board (CSAB)

The CSAB is an independent board of subject experts from all over the world.

Board members are chosen for their expertise in specific subject areas; many have (journal) Editor experience.

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Continuous, online title review process for selecting new

journals for Scopus coverage

As a primary publisher and information aggregator, Elsevier understands the needs of Authors, Editors and Publishers and

provides resources to support the community. Available resources to help journals with successful title review process:

publication ethics resources | FAQs | advisory documents | reviewer comments | editor and publishing services

https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/scopus/content/content-policy-and-selection or titlesuggestion@scopus.com

0

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Peer-review English

abstracts

Regular

publication Roman script

references Pub. ethics

statement

Transparent Scopus selection criteria for serial content

All titles should meet all minimum criteria in order to be considered for Scopus review:

https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/scopus/content/content-policy-and-selection or titlesuggestion@scopus.com

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Continuous, online title review process for selecting new

journals for Scopus coverage

As a primary publisher and information aggregator, Elsevier understands the needs of Authors, Editors and Publishers and

provides resources to support the community. Available resources to help journals with successful title review process:

publication ethics resources | FAQs | advisory documents | reviewer comments | editor and publishing services

https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/scopus/content/content-policy-and-selection or titlesuggestion@scopus.com

0

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Transparent Scopus selection criteria for serial content

Journal Policy Quality of Content Journal Standing Regularity Online Availability

Eligible titles are reviewed by the Content Selection & Advisory Board according to a

combination of 14 quantitative and qualitative selection criteria:

• Convincing editorial

concept/policy

• Type of peer-review

• Diversity geographic

distribution of editors

• Diversity geographic

distribution of authors

• Academic

contribution to the

field

• Clarity of abstracts

• Quality and

conformity with stated

aims & scope

• Readability of

articles

• Citedness of journal

articles in Scopus

• Editor standing

• No delay in

publication schedule

• Content available

online

• English-language

journal home page

• Quality of home

page

https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/scopus/content/content-policy-and-selection or titlesuggestion@scopus.com

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Continuous, online title review process for selecting new

journals for Scopus coverage

As a primary publisher and information aggregator, Elsevier understands the needs of Authors, Editors and Publishers and

provides resources to support the community. Available resources to help journals with successful title review process:

publication ethics resources | FAQs | advisory documents | reviewer comments | editor and publishing services

https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/scopus/content/content-policy-and-selection or titlesuggestion@scopus.com

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Scopus works with various reputable research

organizations worldwide to ensure best local coverage

Three types of local content selection initiatives:

1. Local boards – Korea, Thailand, Russia and China

2. Local content vetting – Scopus team works with local organizations to ensure the top

local journals are suggested for Scopus review

3. Editor workshops – for Editors in a specific country with focus on how to make

journals better to be at a Scopus level

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Less than half of the reviewed titles are selected for

Scopus coverage

Rejected Accepted

In total 5,411 titles reviewed (2011 –2015) of which 2,587 (48%) accepted for Scopus

Title review results from top 20 countries with most titles reviewed in the last 5 years:

.

468 70

100 169 42 63 129

116 299 35 71 37

34 77 49 50 52 22 67 77

104 16

47 102 28 45 93

103 275 40 91 51

59 153 98 119 127 56 173 314

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

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What we do to ensure Scopus content

continues to be trustable: Ongoing data

quality and content curation initiatives

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Ongoing initiative to ensure the best data quality for

Scopus content

Automated creation of Scopus records to provide best quality content to

Scopus users as quickly as possible

• Depending on the format of the original source, select the best suitable

process to create Scopus records;

• If the format allows, Scopus records are created via a fully automated

process (conversion).

Preventive rather than corrective approach to ensure highest quality first

time right and consistent search results

• Continued implementation of strict capturing rules on what information to

capture for each data element in the Scopus record;

• Check all Scopus records against the strict capturing rules, before these are

loaded into the Scopus database.

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Correction of data issues

With more than 60 million items in the database, sometimes errors do occur. This is

how to provide your feedback to us:

Or send us your feedback by email:

nlinfo@elsevier.com; usinfo@elsevier.com; sginfo@elsevier.com; jpinfo@elsevier.com

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Ongoing content curation of the Scopus base to ensure

continuous high quality content

Identification of poor

performing journals

using metrics and

benchmarks

“Radar” to predict

journals with outlier

performance

Direct feedback from

users and

stakeholders on poor

performing journals

Re-evaluation by the Content Selection & Advisory Board (CSAB)

Content Curation

Curation of the full Scopus journal base is essential and expected by

our customers and users.

Review:

Curate:

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Metrics and benchmarks to identify poor-performing

journals for re-evaluation

Metric Benchmark Explanation

Self-citations 200% The journal has a self-citation rate two times higher, or more, when compared to peer journals in its subject field.

Citations 50% The journal received half the number of citations, when

compared to peer journals in its subject field.

Impact Per

Publication 50% The journal has an IPP score half or less than the average IPP

score, when compared to peer journals in its subject field.

Article Output 50% The journal produced half, or less, the number of articles,

when compared to peer journals in its subject field.

Abstract Usage 50% The journal’s abstract are used half as much, or less, when

compared to peer journals in its subject field.

Full Text Links 50% The journal’s full text are used half as much, or less, when

compared to peer journals in its subject field.

Learn more on this topic via the Scopus blog: http://blog.scopus.com/posts/scopus-launches-annual-journal-re-evaluation-process-to-maintain-content-quality

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Transparent, annual re-evaluation process to ensure

titles continue to meet high quality standards

Learn more on this topic via the Scopus blog: http://blog.scopus.com/posts/scopus-launches-annual-journal-re-evaluation-process-to-maintain-content-quality

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“Radar” that identifies journals with outlier performance

What is outlier performance? 2011: 2014:

• Elsevier colleagues were challenged to create a “Radar” that can identify, flag and ultimately

predict outlier performance of journals

• Examples of predicting behavior:

• Total article output and sudden article output growth

• Geographical diversity among authors and editors

• Shift in received citations and percentage of self-citations

• The “Radar” will be rolled out to flag outlier journals on a regular basis

• Flagged journals will be reviewed by the CSAB for continuation of Scopus coverage

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How to use research metrics

and why Scopus offers a basket

of metrics

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Where available, article-level metrics are captured for

all articles in Scopus

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Multiple types of article-level metrics provide a more

complete view of the performance of an article

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What is appropriate use of research metrics?

Research metrics can be used

inappropriately

- One metric used in isolation often leads to

undesirable outcomes

Research metrics can be

manipulated - Normal research practice can be abused if

you really try

All merit systems should be based on multiple

types of measurement: Peer Review │Expert Opinion │Narrative │ Research Metrics

Research Metrics input should always rely on

more than 1 metric Reduces opportunities to game and drives desirable outcomes

For more information on Elsevier’s approach towards research metrics, see also “Response to HEFCE’s call for

evidence: independent review of the role of metrics in research assessment”:

https://www.elsevier.com/research-intelligence/resource-library/response-to-hefces

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Gap

Usage

Citations

Audience

Scholarly Activity

Academic Opinion

Social Activity

Media Activity

Outputs

Our aim is to provide a basket of metrics that facilitates

appropriate use of research metrics in all dimensions

Entities to which

metrics apply:

Articles

Sections

Journals,

Conferences,

Books

Portfolio

Author, Editor,

Reviewer

Institution or

group

Subject Area

Editor

Board

Authors

Community Contributions Consumption Scholarly

Impact Society Impact

Geographical

spread

Collaboration

network

Sector

distribution

h-index

Scholarly

Output

Research data

output

Conference

output Citation counts

Usage counts

SNIP, SJR

Audience

Scholarly blogs,

reviews, etc.

Peer review

metrics

Prizes and

awards

Social media

mentions

Media mentions

Medical

guidelines

Influence

policies

NEW METRIC Coming Q2 2016

Mendeley

Readers

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Short tutorial: Finding relevant

content in the Scopus database

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Case in point: Zika virus

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Analyze search results

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Most prolific authors

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Author profile

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What to look out for in 2016

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What to look out for: 2016 Scopus content roadmap

2015

• OA Journal Indicator

• Completion books project (120k)

Q1 2016

• Article OA indicator Phase I

Q2 2016

• Launch journal metrics

• Funding data expansion

Q3 2016

• Retraction & errata workflow

Q4 2016

• Cited reference expansion complete (12M)

• Article OA indicator Phase II

• Operational and data quality improvements

• Re-evaluation of journal coverage

• Scopus Radar

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What to look out for: 2016 Scopus content roadmap

2015

• OA Journal Indicator

• Completion books project (120k)

Q1 2016

• Article OA indicator Phase I

Q2 2016

• Launch journal metrics

• Funding data expansion

Q3 2016

• Retraction & errata workflow

Q4 2016

• Cited reference expansion complete (12M)

• Article OA indicator Phase II

• Operational and data quality improvements

• Re-evaluation of journal coverage

• Scopus Radar

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Summary of today’s webinar:

• Scopus’ broad and deep content coverage gives a

comprehensive view on global research.

• Through various content curation initiatives

Scopus makes sure that the content continues to

meet high quality standards.

• By the analyze search tools and applying a variety

of metrics you can make the best out of the vast

content coverage of Scopus in an easy way.

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Important Scopus resources to stay up to date: Site URL

Scopus Info Site https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/scopus

Scopus Blog http://blog.scopus.com

Scopus newsletter https://communications.elsevier.com/webApp/els_doubleOptInWA?do=0&srv=els_s

copus&sid=71&uif=0&uvis=3

Twitter www.twitter.com/scopus

Facebook www.facebook.com/elsevierscopus

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/scopus-an-eye-on-global-research

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/ScopusDotCom

Thank you!

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Upcoming Scopus and Engineering Village webinars

Register at blog.scopus.com/webinars

Register at blog.engineeringvillage.com/webinars

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www.elsevier.com/scopus

Thank you and please join us

again next month

A recording of this webinar will soon be made available via

blog.scopus.com/webinars