10. June 2009 14:46
ESF works with Scopus to expand arts and humanities coverage
First citation database to offer access to Arts and Humanities journals from over a thousand different publishers and content providers.
Elsevier announced today that its flagship product Scopus, the world’s largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature, has almost doubled its current arts & humanities (A&H) titles to 3,500, by adding top global journals using the European Science Foundation’s European Reference Index for Humanities (ERIH). This marks the first time that many of the ERIH titles will be available through a global citation database at no additional cost.
Founded in 2001 by the European Science Foundation, ERIH provides scholars, libraries and other institutions with lists of high quality A&H journals to raise awareness of the titles as a resource for content and an avenue for publishing original research. Journals are included in the ERIH lists and categorized based on audience, distribution and reach, as well as influence and scope by expert scholarly panels from around the world. Scopus users can now search and access top-level A&H journal titles from all three categories included on the initial ERIH lists.
“I very much welcome the expansion of Scopus towards A&H publications,” added Arto Mustajoki, President of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and Member of the ERIH Steering Committee. “It is important to have an alternative that reflects the European output in the reference journal and citation index business.”
With the addition of the ERIH’s titles, Scopus can provide researchers with better access to national and international A&H journals. Subjects with the most journals include literature and literary theory (30% of new titles), general arts and humanities (22%), history (17%) and visual/performing arts (16%). More than half (60%) are published from the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region, 38% from the Americas and 2% are from Asia-Pacific.
Like the existing titles in Scopus, the new journals contain cited references that make previously unavailable bibliometrics data accessible. This information will now help A&H scholars more efficiently assess and measure research sources and output, as well as illustrate the broader influence of journal articles published. In addition, Scopus allows tracking of citations belonging to scholarly books – via the 'more' tab.
Several prestigious and highly cited titles are now included in Scopus such as "Mind" (Oxford University Press), "Transactions of the Royal Historical Society" (Cambridge University Press) and "Modern Philology" (University of Chicago Press)
In order to acquire back content of many journals, Scopus partnered with Project MUSE, a not-for-profit platform founded by John Hopkins University Press and the Milton S. Eisenhower Library (MSEL) at John Hopkins University.
“We are pleased to help extend the visibility of many significant A&H titles,” said Mary Rose Muccie, Project MUSE Director.
Niels Weertman, Director Scopus and Scirus added: “To date, there has been a lack of bibliometric data in the Arts and Humanities fields. We are excited to be working with the European Science Foundation as the ERIH journals not only expand the international breadth of Scopus, but also makes it an even more holistic source for scientific research and measurement in arts and humanities.”
Notes to editors
ERIH (European Reference Index for the Humanities) aims to enhance the global visibility of high-quality research in the humanities published in academic journals in various European languages across all of Europe. It is a fully peer-reviewed, Europe-wide process, in which 15 expert panels assess and aggregate input received from funding agencies and other ESF Member Organisations as well as subject associations. The initial lists are now being revised based on feedback from editors, publishers and scientific community. The lists will be updated every 2-3 years.
MUSE began in 1993 as a pioneering joint project of the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Press and the Milton S. Eisenhower Library (MSEL) at JHU. Project MUSE is a unique collaboration between libraries and publishers, providing 100% full-text, affordable and user-friendly online access to a comprehensive selection of prestigious humanities and social sciences journals. MUSE's online journal collections support a diverse array of research needs at academic, public, special and school libraries worldwide. Journals are heavily indexed and peer-reviewed, with critically acclaimed articles by the most respected scholars in their fields. MUSE is also the sole source of complete, full-text versions of titles from many of the world's leading university presses and scholarly societies. Currently, MUSE provides full-text access to current content from over 400 titles representing nearly 100 not-for-profit publishers.
The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an independent, non-governmental organization representing 80 national funding agencies, research-performing agencies, academies and learned societies from 30 countries. The strength of the foundation lies in the influential membership and in its ability to bring together the different domains of science to meet the challenges of the future. The foundation is dedicated to promoting collaboration in scientific research, funding of research and science policy across Europe. Through its activities ESF has made major contributions to science in a global context. Since it was established in 1974, the ESF has assembled a host of organisations that span all disciplines of science, to create a common platform for cross-border cooperation in Europe. It covers the following scientific domains: humanities, social sciences, life, earth and environmental sciences, medical sciences, and physical and engineering sciences.
Scopus covers the world’s research literature. It is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and quality Web sources with smart tools to track analyze and visualize research. Scopus was designed and developed with over 500 users and librarians internationally. Its unique database contains abstracts and references from over 18,000 titles from 5,000 publishers worldwide, ensuring broad interdisciplinary coverage. In addition, Scopus not only offers users citation information about the articles covered, but also directly integrates Web and patent searches. Direct links to full-text articles, library resources and other applications like reference management software, make Scopus quicker, easier and more comprehensive to use than any other literature research tool.
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the global science and health communities, Elsevier’s 7,000 employees in over 70 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such as ScienceDirect, MD Consult, Scopus, bibliographic databases, and online reference works.
Elsevier is a global business headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide. Elsevier is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc a world-leading publisher and information provider. Operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high-quality and flexible information solutions to users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier's ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).
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