The indexing database covers more than 9,200 notable and significantjournals, across 178 disciplines, from 1900 to the present.[citation needed] These are alternatively described as the world's leading journals ofscience andtechnology, because of a rigorous selection process.[7][8][9]
The index is available online withinWeb of Science,[10][11] as part of its Core Collection (there are also CD and printed editions, covering a smaller number of journals).[12] The database allows researchers to search through over 53 million records from thousands of academic journals that were published by publishers from around the world.
Clarivate previously marketed several subsets of this database, termed "Specialty Citation Indexes",[13] such as theNeuroscience Citation Index[14] and theChemistry Citation Index,[15] however these databases are no longer actively maintained.[as of?]
The Chemistry Citation Index was first introduced by Eugene Garfield, a chemist by training. His original "search examples were based on [his] experience as a chemist".[16] In 1992, an electronic and print form of the index was derived from a core of 330 chemistry journals, within which all areas were covered. Additional information was provided from articles selected from 4,000 other journals. All chemistry subdisciplines were covered: organic, inorganic, analytical, physical chemistry, polymer, computational, organometallic, materials chemistry, and electrochemistry.[16]By 2002, the core journal coverage increased to 500 and related article coverage increased to 8,000 other journals.[17]One 1980 study reported the overall citation indexing benefits for chemistry, examining the use of citations as a tool for the study of the sociology of chemistry and illustrating the use of citation data to "observe" chemistry subfields over time.[18]
Garfield, E. (1979).Citation Indexing: Its Theory and Application in Science, Technology, and Humanities. Information Sciences Series. New York:Wiley-Interscience.ISBN978-0-89495-024-7.
