The Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) is a comprehensive bibliographic database initially developed by Eugene Garfield and produced by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI).
Currently managed by Thomson Reuters, the SCIE provides bibliographic details for over 3500 multidisciplinary journals. It enables researchers to perform thorough searches to access pertinent information for their studies.
By tracking publications and citations across leading English-language journals, the SCIE helps identify which articles have cited a particular work, referenced specific authors’ works, or are frequently cited within specific research fields.
In simple terms, the SCIE database monitors each indexed scientist’s publications, including which journals and disciplines their work appears in and how frequently their papers are cited.
It allows users to apply search filters such as journal name, discipline, year, impact factor, and keywords, helping them to establish connections between scholarly works and uncover trends or patterns in research on specific topics. Originally designed for real-time indexing of published papers, the SCIE quickly became popular among researchers aiming to publish in reputable journals due to its additional benefits.
Publishing in SCIE-indexed journals is crucial for scientists as it documents their work, builds their reputation, and advances their careers.
Being published in such journals is often a significant criterion for academic success, enhancing authors’ visibility and the credibility of their scientific contributions. It can be essential for graduation, promotions, career development, grant applications, or applying for specialty positions and academic programs.
The SCIE serves as a valuable tool for researchers seeking specific scientific or bibliographic information and for understanding the impact of scientific output.
While various metrics help researchers identify important past contributions, innovative measures like altmetrics are also being developed.
Staying up to date on the latest developments in scientometrics and other impact measures will enable scientists to take full use of them.
