Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science)

Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science)
Name	Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science)
Founded	2016
Predecessor	Thomson Reuters Intellectual Property and Science division
Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Industry	Information services
Products	Web of Science, EndNote, Derwent, Cortellis

Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science) Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science) is an information services company and citation indexing platform used for bibliometric analysis, research discovery, and intellectual property management. The platform aggregates scholarly literature and citation data utilized by universities, research funders, publishers, and corporations such as Harvard University, University of Oxford, National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, and World Health Organization for evaluation, discovery, and policy decisions.

Overview

Web of Science provides searchable indexes of scholarly articles, conference proceedings, and patents drawing users from institutions like Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Max Planck Society, and Institut Pasteur. The service competes with platforms and organizations such as Scopus, Google Scholar, PubMed, arXiv, and CrossRef and integrates with bibliographic tools and vendors including EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley, Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science) partners in publishing like Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, and Taylor & Francis.

History and development

Web of Science traces institutional lineage to the Science Citation Index created by Eugene Garfield and developed at the Institute for Scientific Information before its acquisition by Thomson Reuters and later sale to investors including Private equity firms leading to the 2016 establishment of Clarivate. Over time the platform expanded through acquisitions and integrations involving assets related to Derwent Innovations Index, Cortellis, and services used by entities such as European Research Council, National Science Foundation, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Content and coverage

The database indexes journals, books, conference proceedings, and patents across publishers like Nature Publishing Group, Science (journal), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, IEEE, and American Chemical Society publications. It catalogs records referenced in citations among authors affiliated with institutions such as University of Cambridge, Princeton University, University of Tokyo, Karolinska Institutet, and ETH Zurich and covers disciplines reflected in titles by societies like American Physical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, American Mathematical Society, and American Chemical Society.

Indexing methodology and metrics

Web of Science employs editorial selection criteria influenced by standards used by indexing organizations like Committee on Publication Ethics, Directory of Open Access Journals, Scimago Journal & Country Rank, and practices referenced by funders including Wellcome Trust and European Commission. Its citation metrics include proprietary measures used alongside community metrics such as the h-index, Impact Factor, Eigenfactor, and counts that influence assessments at bodies like Times Higher Education, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, Leiden Ranking, and national assessment exercises such as Research Excellence Framework and Excellence in Research for Australia.

Products and services

Key products include the Web of Science Core Collection paired with tools and services like EndNote, Publons, InCites, Derwent World Patent Index, and pharmaceutical intelligence assets similar to Cortellis. Institutional services support analytics and reporting used by organizations such as Elsevier Research Intelligence, Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science) clients in higher education like Columbia University, Yale University, University of California, and policy units within United Nations agencies.

Criticisms and controversies

Critiques have focused on coverage biases debated in forums that include representatives from Open Access, Plan S, ResearchGate, Sci-Hub, and advocacy groups such as SPARC. Concerns involve language and regional representation affecting authors from Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, disputes over journal inclusion criteria raised by editors from PLOS, Frontiers, MDPI, and debates about the influence of metrics like the Impact Factor in hiring and funding decisions addressed by institutions such as DORA and commentators including Bjørn Lomborg and Richard Horton.

Impact on research evaluation and policy

The platform shapes bibliometric approaches used by funders and institutions including National Institutes of Health, European Research Council, Horizon Europe, Wellcome Trust, Gates Foundation, and national agencies in China, United Kingdom, and Australia. Its data inform university rankings produced by Times Higher Education, QS World University Rankings, and Academic Ranking of World Universities, and feed into policy instruments and evaluations performed by bodies like Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and national ministries of science and technology.

Category:Bibliographic databases