Using Web of Science as a Research Tool : Experience at HKUST Library Steve Yip Electronic Information Librarian

Contents  Subscription History  Promotion and User Education  Usage Statistics  Tool for Both Locating Research Articles and Evaluating Academic Performance  Requests for Enhancements

SCI & SSCI Subscription started from FormatCoverageConcurrent users 1992CD-Net Jan 2000WOS Jan 2003WOS Oct 2003WOS May 2004WOS (together with JCR)

Promotion and User Education  Notes From the Library  e.g.,  Announcements  e.g.,  Search Guide

Promotion and User Education  Workshops on WOS  2 to 3 Sessions Every Semester  Announcements  e.g.,  Library Workshops on Specific Topics or for Specific Courses  Guides

WOS Usage Statistics (from WOS Usage Statistics (from Month Sub- Queries CitationTotal Items sessionsEventsRequested Aug 20053,65912,7763,20318,421 July 20053,34912,5973,12621,524 Jun 20053,47512,1983,25966,981 May 20053,39513,4983,36514,360 Apr 20053,57614,4923,77123,395 Mar 20053,17113,5784,38344,870 Feb 20052,59210,6133,17319,900 Jan 20053,64314,1353,55325,197 Dec 20043,05010,7962,40418,046 Nov 20045,05414,2162,55921,279 Oct 20044,45413,9373,09025,924 Sep 20043,56014,7993,91530,463 Total42,978157,63539,801330,360 Average/day

Locating Research Literature - I  Search the abstracts of articles in 6,357 international journals in science and engineering, as well as 1,807 social sciences and business journals.  Link from search results to the full-text of the articles on the publishers’ web sites as well as the Library’s Catalog and Interlibrary Loan System. Link from search results to the full-text of the articles on the publishers’ web sites as well as the Library’s Catalog and Interlibrary Loan System  Find the references cited in a particular article.  Find the journal articles that have cited a particular author or work (articles, conference papers, book chapters, patents, etc. )

Locating Research Literature - II  Locate related articles that share one or more cited references.  Discover key papers through sorting search results by "times cited". Discover key papers through sorting search results by "times cited".  Create Citation Alerts to receive s on new articles which cite your chosen articles as references.

Evaluating Scholarly Performance - I  University Level  Search for the no. of articles published by universities in HK, and selected universities in China, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, United States, Canada, Britain, and Australia.  Conducted by the Vice-President for Research and Development Office annually to compare the scholarly outputs of the universities.

Evaluating Scholarly Performance - II  Individual Level  Professors search (usually done by their RA) for the no. of times that each of their works (articles, conference papers, book chapters, patents, etc.) have been cited. Professors search (usually done by their RA) for the no. of times that each of their works (articles, conference papers, book chapters, patents, etc.) have been cited  For applying the fellowship of Chinese Academy of Sciences or other prestigious organizations worldwide.  Search Results verified and certified by the Library. Search Results verified and certified by the Library

Requests for Enhancements - I  Offer a platform (e.g., CSA IILUMIMA) for Library staff themselves to create links to e-journals. Offer a platform (e.g., CSA IILUMIMA) for Library staff themselves to create links to e-journals.  Standardize as much as possible the abbreviated names of institutions Standardize as much as possible the abbreviated names of institutions  Number the authors and the corresponding addresses Number the authors and the corresponding addresses

Requests for Enhancements – II  Increase the number of records that can be analysed from 2,000 to 100,000 or more. Increase the number of records that can be analysed from 2,000 to 100,000 or more  Include the titles of cited works (articles, patents, conference papers, book chapters) and make them keyword searchable. Include the titles of cited works (articles, patents, conference papers, book chapters) and make them keyword searchable  Allow limiting searches by broad subject categories Allow limiting searches by broad subject categories  Offer an easy way to eliminate self-citation. Offer an easy way to eliminate self-citation

End Thanks for your attention and patience!