Citation databases are databases developed for evaluating publications. They enable you to count citations and check, for example, which articles or journals are the most cited ones. However, none of the citation databases covers all publications. Also the coverage of disciplines varies greatly.
Citation databases and bibliometric indicators are based on citations and the amount of them. Citing in itself, however, is not a quality criterion and there can be many reasons for the citing (negative citations, ethnocentricity, self-citation).
| Database |  |
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|---|---|---|
| General information | Multidisciplinary database for abstracts and citations, the oldest and the most frequently used | |
| Service provider | Clarivate Analytics (before Thomson Reuters and ISI) | |
| Access | Access via the Finna search service in the university’s network or by remote access if the university has license to the database | |
| Content |
Contains citation data of more than 10 000 of the most cited, peer reviewed journals. About 8000 journals on natural sciences and 2600 on social sciences. References from the year 1900, citations from 1997. Observe! Web of Knowledge comprises three parts: Web of Science (user interface for searching), Journal Citation Reports index (evaluating the impact factor of journals) and Essential Science Indicators (e.g. evaluations by researchers and research institutes based on citations). Access to these depends on your university's license. |
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| Coverage |
Excellent coverage: Hard sciences (chemistry, clinical medicine, biochemistry) |
|
| Advantages |
Covers publications from a long time period (especially regarding hard sciences) Well-known and used indicators Complex search options |
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| Limitations |
Only moderate coverage in humanities and social sciences Publications mainly journals in English, other languages and countries poorly represented |
|
| Features |
Cited Reference Search Citation Mapping Alerts and RSS-feeds Citation Report and h-index, Author Finder Journal Citation Reports database (evaluation of the impact factor regarding journals, and comparisons) |
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| Bibliometric indicators |
Hirsh-index impact factor Immediaxy index AI (article impact) EF (Eigenfactor) Citation median Total amount of citations |
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| Researcher profile | ResearcherID. Can be integrated with Orcid-ID. | |
| Other |
Web of Knowledge comprises three parts, se Content Impact Factor is only available in Web of Knowledge/JCR, Clarivate Analytics has exclusive rights to it |
| Database |  |
|
|---|---|---|
| General information | Multidisciplinary database for abstracts and citations | |
| Service provider | Elsevier | |
| Access | Accessible via Finna search portal in the university’s network or by remote access if the university has license to the database | |
| Content |
Contains about 21 500 scientific journals from more than 5000 publishers. Includes also about 4200 Open Access-journals, 7,2 million conference publications, 360 trade journals and 113 000 books. Citations from 1996 |
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| Coverage |
The most comprehensive collection is in the natural sciences, technology, medicine and social sciences. Materials from all over the world (also Europe, Asia and Latin America). Amount of journal titles: Life sciences 4300, health sciences 6800, physical sciences 7,200, humanities and social sciences 5300 |
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| Advantages |
Easy to use |
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| Limitations |
Citations indexed since 1996 |
|
| Features | Author Identifier Affiliation Identifier Cited Reference Search Alerts and RSS-feeds Citation tracker H-index Scopus Journal Analyzer |
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| Bibliometric indicators |
Total amount of citations SJR (SCImago Journal Rank) SNIP (Source Normalized Impact per Paper) Hirsch-index |
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| Researcher profile | Scopus Author Indentifier. Can be integrated with Orcid-ID. | |
| Other | - |
| Database |  |
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|---|---|---|
| General information | Search engine, searches for data in scientific sources on the web | |
| Service provider | ||
| Access | Free | |
| Content |
The search results include theses, presentations, books, abstracts, conference papers and articles produced by academic publishers, institutions, universities and other scientific organizations |
|
| Coverage |
No information on which publishers or publications are included in the Google Scholar index.
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| Advantages | Open for all Access to many full texts Comprehensive, especially regarding conference publications as well as free and Open Access publications Searches for information irrespective of country and language Easy to use |
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| Limitations |
Lack of transparency: no information which sources are covered by the search |
|
| Features |
The most common search features |
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| Bibliometric indicators | The total amount of citations, no other indicators. Indicators based on data in Google Scholar are available in the free programme Publish or Perish. | |
| Researcher profile | Google Scholar Citation | |
| Other |
In your university's network the full text articles and journals acquired by your university can be accessed directly via Google Scholar. However, remote access to these same articles is available only via the Finna portal or via Google Scholar's Library links (Settings -> Library links -> Write the name of your university -> mark it -> Save) |