Quo vadis Web of Science? The expansion and selection criteria of the Social Science Citation Index

• Published in: Social Science Information Vol. 64; no. 2; pp. 248 - 260
• Main Author: Vanderstraeten, Raf
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.06.2025; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Academic disciplines; Anthropology; Changes; Citation indexes; Criteria; Educational research; Indexes; Medical education; Nursing; Science; Scientometrics; Selection criteria; Social sciences; Web of Science; scientization; bases de données scientifiques; scientisation; Social Science Citation Index; Croissance de la science; growth of science; scientific databases
• ISSN: 0539-0184; 1461-7412
• DOI: 10.1177/05390184251349017

Web of Science has rapidly expanded its coverage of the scientific literature in the past decades. We analyze the selection criteria applied in its databases, especially the Social Science Citation Index, and discuss how changes in the coverage of the scientific literature inform us about changes in the kinds of research that are being valued and prioritized. Scientometric data are presented for the period 1997–2023. These data show that ‘applied’ subject categories, such as nursing and education, educational research, have become more visible in the scientific databases, while the classic or ‘pure’ disciplines, such as anthropology and sociology, have become less visible. We argue that these changes indicate that science itself is increasingly defined in terms of its impact on the external world. Changing ideas about what constitutes good science and about the place of the social sciences in society are enhancing the status of applied disciplines and lead to their stronger presence in scientific databases.