We have never been able to afford Web of Science, while we were able to
get a very nice deal for Scopus for being an early tester and
subscriber. (After that deal is up, who knows.) We actually did searches
on both during some trials and generally found Scopus gave us more
results. ISI is so focused on their impact factor journals that they
often leave out other journals or change coverage based on those impact
factors, while Scopus seems to be more consistent in their coverage of
the titles they index. We did get rid of BasicBIOSIS based on a
comparison with Scopus - all but 2 titles were covered, and those two
were really strange titles (not very basic to biology, IMHO). I hadn't
thought to check PsycInfo against it yet, but my next effort is to
compare Applied Science and Technology Index.

We didn't have a lot of science coverage, so this was a way to get a lot
of bang for the buck, and a better deal than ISI would give us.

Julie

> -----Original Message-----
> From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
> [mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Daniel Jones
> Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 9:44 AM
> To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
> Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Scopus
>
> I would be interested in seeing comparative data if anyone
> has done this.
> I've heard anecdotes that Scopus is especially strong
> covering the published literature (and more) of engineering
> and the applied sciences, not so strong covering the life
> sciences, social sciences and humanities.
>
> If anyone has recent data comparing
> Scopus vs PsycINFO
> Scopus vs BIOSIS
> Scopus vs PubMed
> Scopus vs Web of Knowledge
> 	Science Citation Index ExpandedT
> 	Social Sciences Citation IndexR,
> 	Arts & Humanities Citation IndexR,
> 	and two additional databases that allow users to
> combine chemistry searches with general searches:
> 		Current Chemical ReactionsR and Index Chemicus
>
> Has anyone compared the journal title lists and years of
> coverage for any of these?  What about comparative subject
> searches to see if key references appear?
>
> It would be wise for some of the A&I producers to do this
> type of comparison (or to commission someone elst to do it)
> if they want their products to survive.
>
> Regards,
> Danny
>
> =======================
> Daniel H. Jones, M.L.S.
> Librarian
> Preston G. Northrup Memorial Library
> Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research Shipping address:
>      7620 NW Loop 410
>      San Antonio, TX  78227-5301
> Mailing address:
>      P.O. Box 760549
>      San Antonio, TX  78245-0549
>
> Tel:  210-258-9426
> Fax:  210-670-3313
> Email:  djones@sfbr.org
> =======================
> -----Original Message-----
> From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
> [mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Andrew Waller
> Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 8:12 AM
> To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
> Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Scopus
>
> We trialled Scopus earlier this year and the general feeling
> was that it was a product that showed promise but there was
> no big desire among the subject librarians to acquire it, at
> least at present.  The high cost was also an issue.
>
> Andrew
>
> --
> Andrew Waller
> Serials Librarian
> Collections Services
> University of Calgary Library
>
> waller@ucalgary.ca
> (403) 220-8133 voice
> (403) 284-2109 fax
>
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
> >[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Helen Aiello
> >Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 12:55 PM
> >To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
> >Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Scopus
> >
> >I would like to add my own question to this query: what are
> >institutions who have ISI planning to do?  I suspect that
> many schools
> >do not have the financial resources to run both products so
> will have
> >to make a decision down the road if SCOPUS becomes a real contender.
> >Any comments on how this decision will be made, especially
> since many
> >of us have purchased 'perpetual access' to ISI, will be most
> appreciated.
> >
> >Helen M. Aiello
> >Serials/Electronic Resources Librarian
> >Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
> >
> >
> >At 01:35 PM 9/8/2005, Cynthia Swope wrote:
> >
> >
> >>I'd like to hear comments from institutions who are using
> Elsevier's
> >>new  and  pricey search engine.  It looks great, but is it
> worth the
> >>money?
> >>
> >>Cindy Swope
> >>Himmelfarb Library
>