Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature with
bibliometrics tools to track, analyze and visualize research. It contains over 19,500 titles from
more than 5,000 publishers around the world, covering the fields of science, technology,
medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities. Scopus has 46 million records dating
back to 1823, 72% of these containing references dating from 1996.
Quick Reference Guide
www.scopus.com
Refine your research.
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Document Search
With Scopus, you can easily start your search from the homepage. Ensure that you
quickly access the article you want by using the detailed search options offered.
Starting a Search
Document Search
This tab is the main search window of the
homepage. To begin, enter the search
terms in the space provided. (See the box
on page 8 for input rules for search terms.)
Search Items
Select which fields
you wish to search.
Author Search
Search for an author with the Author search tab.
Affiliation Search
Search for an affiliation name
with the Affiliation search tab.
Add Search Field
When searching using multiple
keywords and search items,
click Add search field button.
Limit to Section
Control search by limiting
to: published years, recently
added, document type and
subject area.
Boolean Operators
Select from OR, AND, AND NOT
to combine search terms.
Search History
When you return to the search
window after carrying out a search,
your search history will be displayed
at the bottom. The search history is
cleared for each new session.
Manage Saved Searches
Select searches for editing
or deleting.
Set Alerts or RSS Feeds
Select saved searches and
receive email alerts and feeds
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Sorting Options and Refining
Batch Processing Results
Sort Options
By default, search
results are listed by
publication year.
View Citation Overview
Analyze citations by clicking
View citation overview
Download: Batch download multiple PDF files
and automatically assign them names based
on specified rules. The file names can be a
combination of author, publication year, article
title, journal, and so on. The maximum number
of files you can download at one time is 50 if
PDF is available. Java required.
Export: Export bibliographic information
as RIS RefWorks, format (for document
management programs such as EndNote),
text format, BibTeX format, and Excel format.
If you are using RefWorks, you can link
seamlessly by embedding your RefWorks
ID/PW in the My settings menu.
Print: Displays the articles in a format
suited for printing.
Email: Sends the articles as an email.
Create bibliography: Change the
output to typical reference list format.
Add to my list: Adds the articles
to a temporary list. Later, you can
check them from the My list menu
or save the list under a new name.
View citation overview: Analyze
documents that cite the selected
articles. See page 5.
View cited by: Displays
all documents that cite the
selected articles.
View references: Displays
all documents referenced
by the article.
Analyze Results
One button click exports your search
metrics into a new window with tabbed
organization of graphs and charts for
your review, export and email.
Search Alert
Set to alert you via email (Set alert)
or RSS feed (Set feed) when a new
article that matches your search
conditions is listed. (Requires login)
Refine
In Refine results field either limit (Limit
to) or exclude (Exclude) specific years,
journals or authors, and so on. With
Add categories, you can add additional
keywords, original language or other
items. Display up to 160 results by using
the Display drop down button.
Number of Search Results
The number of documents is shown.
Display Abstract Page
By clicking the article title you
can show the document details
(the abstract and referenced
works) of the article.
Link to Full Text
By clicking View at publisher,
you can link to the full text
on each publisher’s website
if authorized.
You are able to carry out a number
of different operations for multiple
articles selected in the check boxes.
Search within Results
Add additional terms to
your search by directly
entering them here.
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Using Abstract Pages
References
A list of references cited by this article are
displayed in the References field. You can
use links from here to the abstract pages.
Keywords
Author keywords and keywords assigned
from thesauri are shown in the Author
keywords and Indexed keywords fields.
Citing Documents
In the Cited by since 1996 field, the most
recent two works to cite this article are
shown. You can also display all documents.
Document Citation Alert
Set to alert you via email (Set alert)
or RSS feed (Set feed) when this
document is cited in another article.
(Requires login)
Customize Discovery with Applications
Collaborate with other researchers, search
for relevant information, manage discovery
processes and analyze scientific information.
Search for Related Articles
Search for articles sharing the same
references, authors, or keywords
as this article.
Link to Full Text
By clicking View at Publisher,
you can link to the full text on
each publisher’s website.
Link to Author Profile
Links to author’s profile page.
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Analyze Results
On a given search, users can click the, Analyze results button and a window opens with several tabs.
Each tab in the Analyze results window contains a set of graphical displays and charts that can be
manipulated to better understand the search metrics. Additionally, the graphics offer contextual
boxes that give insight on specific points along the curve.
Citation Overview
Analysis
View Citation Overview
Analyze citations by clicking View citation
overview. This will display, in table format, the
number of citations per year for each article.
This multipurpose tool allows you to see at a
glance the citation trend for any given article.
Total Citations
Per reference, total citation count
Number of Cited Documents
Search Metrics
Search metrics are organized by the
following: Year, Source title, Author
name, Affiliation, Name Country,
Document type, and Subject area.
Analyze Results
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Journal Analyzer
Select Journal
Double-click the journal you wish
from the search results or drag
and drop it to the right-hand frame.
You can select up to 10 titles.
Analytics
Click the Analytics tab to start.
Search for Journals
Search by entering part
of the candidate journal
name in the Search box.
Evaluation Indices
Compare and evaluate
the journals from various
perspectives.
SJR (SCImago Journal Rank)
Using an algorithm similar to
that for Google®
PageRank, this
prestige metric index weights
citations by the quality of the citing
journal and allows comparison
between fields.
SNIP (Source Normalized Impact
per Paper) Taking the ease of
citation by field into account, this
index adjusts the citation ratio
and allows comparison between
journals in different fields.
Citations The total number of
citations a journal receives per year.
Docs (Documents) The total
number of articles published
by a journal per year.
Percentage Not Cited The
percentage of articles published
each year that have not been
cited even once previously.
Percentage Reviews The
percentage of articles in a journal
that are categorized as a review
type article.
For more information visit
www.journalmetrics.com
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Author Tools
Search by an Author’s Name
With Scopus, you can identify specific individuals from author attribute information and Scopus search
algorithmically created profiles for articles that the author has written. From the author ID you can display
all articles by that author, documents that cite the author, h-index and more.
Starting a Search
Author Profile
Author Name
Enter surname and initials or given
name of author in Author box and a
list of authors that may match will be
shown. You can also search in combination
with his/her affiliation.
Author Search
Select Author Search tab
to search by author name.
Citations in Other Documents
In the Citations field, check which documents
cite this author’s articles. Analyze the citations
of all this author’s articles from View citation
overview. Use Author Citation Alert to set
to alert you via email (Set alert) when this
author’s articles are cited in another article.
(Requires login)
h-index
This is an index that evaluates the author from the
number of published works and number of citations
in other documents, and is shown as h for articles
that have been cited more than h times since 1996.
This can be displayed as a graph from View h-graph.
Article Information
In the Documents field, check all articles by
this author. Using Author Evaluator, show
the author’s research results as graphs from
a number of different aspects. Use search
alert to set to alert you via email (Set alert)
or RSS feed (Set feed) when this author
publishes another article. (Requires login)
Display Author Profile
Clicking on the author’s name
will show author profile.
Author Profile
displays the author’s articles, documents
that cite the author, h-index, and can
analyze the citations.
Request to Merge Authors
Selected profiles for the same author can be merged
with the simple step by step Author Profile Wizard.
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Search Term Rules
General Rules
•	Not case sensitive
•	Entering singular nouns will also search for plural nouns and possessives
(with some exceptions)
•	Entering either variation of Greek letters (a OR alpha, b OR beta,)
will search for both variations
•	Entering either British or American spellings (colour, color, or tyre, tire)
will search for both variations
Phrase Search
•	Multiple words set off by spaces will be processed with the AND operator.
•	To search as a phrase, enclose it in double quote marks or curly brackets.
•	Double quotes “ “ will search for fuzzy phrases. It will also search for both singular
and plurals (with some exceptions). Symbols are ignored. Wildcards can be used.
“heart-attack” will search for heart-attack, heart attack, heart attacks, and so on
•	Curly brackets { } will search for a specific phrase. It limits the search
to only the specified character string, and symbols can be used.
{heart-attack} will only search for heart-attack
Wildcards
•	* replaces any number of characters
toxi* will search for toxin, toxic, toxicity, toxicology, and so on
•	? replaces only one character
sawt??th will search for sawtooth and sawteeth
Logical operators and proximity operators
•	AND Searches for articles containing both words
food AND poison
•	OR Searches for articles containing either or both words
weather OR climate
•	AND NOT Searches for articles that do not contain the following words
tumor AND NOT malignant
•	W/n Restricts to n words between the two words, the word order is not set
Pain W/5 morphine
•	PRE/n Restricts to n words between the two words, the word order is as set
newborn PRE/3 screening
•	Operator priority order (it is possible to change the priority order by using parentheses)
1. OR 2. W/n or PRE/n 3. AND 4. AND NOT
Login
If you already have a username and password then click Login and enter
them in the login box. If you check Remember me, your login information
will be stored in your computer and you will be permanently logged in.
User Registration
To register as a new user, click Register. Enter the required information,
such as your name and email address, in the registration window.
Alerts
You can create and manage email alerts to stay up to date in your field.
•	Search Alert
•	Author Citation Alert
•	Document Citation Alert
Check My List
You can check your articles in the temporary list or the list you saved.
Change Individual Settings/Password
You can change your email address, password, RefWorks UN/PW, and
so on from the Settings menu.
Scopus Alerts Mobile App
Scopus Alerts Mobile App lets you take Scopus with you for searching,
alerting, annotating and sharing on the go. For more information;
info.sciverse.com/sciverse-mobile-applications/overview
Customize
Registered users can Customize the look and behavior of their Scopus
search experience.
Using Personal Functions
By registering as a user, you are able to set up useful
personal functions such as email alerts. Your username
and password are the same as for ScienceDirect, and you
only need a single sign-on.
Registration
For more information on searching, see the in-product help files