- Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher
- Netscape Navigator 7.0 or higher
- Firefox 1.0 or higher
- Mozilla 1.7.12 or higher
Macintosh OS 10.3and higher:
- Safari 1.3 or higher
- Netscape 7.0 or higher
- Firefox 1.0 or higher
- Mozilla 1.7.12 or higher
ISI Web of Knowledge is best viewed in 800 X 600 resolution.
Q: How do I use the new “Refine Your Results” feature?
A: This feature allows you to focus your search results based on ranked data from selected fields such as authors, institution, subject categories, and more. For example, you can search on a particular topic and then narrow your results to the top five institutions among your results. Or you can restrict your author search results to specific subject categories – a very useful feature when you are dealing with a common name. Refine Your Results allows you to filter out noise and irrelevant records and find the best results. The feature is available in all Web of Knowledge databases.
The Refine Your Results box appears just above your results on the Search Results Summary page. It shows the fields available for use in the database you are searching. Simply click on the desired field to see a list of the most frequently occurring field entries extracted from the records in your results set. The actual number of records containing each entry is also shown, so you can easily see the relative rankings. Select the desired entries, then click View Records to display only the relevant records or Exclude Records to exclude them from your results.
An additional benefit of this feature is that you can continue the Refine process based on different fields for the same set of results to eliminate noise and narrow your results to exactly what you want. For example, you can first Refine Your Results based on Subject Categories and then further Refine those results by Institution, and then again by Source Title.
Q: Can I use he Firefox browser to search on Web of Knowledge?
A: Yes, you can now use Firefox for all Web of Knowledge products. If a page in Web of Knowledge looks garbled or corrupted, you need to clear the cache, close the browser. and then restart your session. To clear the cache, go to "Tools > Clear Private Data". Then select the "Cache" check box and click "Clear Private Data Now".
Q: When I try to connect to ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0, I receive the following error: "Sorry you need a subscription."
A: If your institution subscribes to an ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 product and you are working on an authorized computer, please submit the following information to your local Customer Technical Support team Customer Technical Support team:
- The name of your institution
- The name of the Thomson Scientific product you are using
- Your IP address
- The full text of the error message including the IP address listed in the error message
- A screen shot of the error message
- If you are aware of any other users experiencing a similar problem, please notify your local
Customer Technical Support team
If your IP address changed recently and you have lost access please contact your library or ISI Web of Knowledge administrator.
Q: What should I do if I receive the message A System Error has Occurred?
A: If you receive a "System Error" in ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0, or any Thomson Scientific product, please report it to your local Customer Technical Support team at http://thomsonscientific.com/support/techsupport/ with the following information:
- What is the specific error? This information should be located on the error page.
- The steps required to recreate the problem: At what point did you receive this error?
- Your IP address
- The time you first noticed this problem
- A screen shot of the page where the error appears
- The URL displaying in your browser URL/Address bar
Q: How are our sessions determined in ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0?
A: Sessions are determined by the ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 platform, not by the individual products. Single session management allows users to search, navigate, and browse through all content sources available in ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 using a single simultaneous user seat. No matter where users go within ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0, they will use only one session.
Q: Can I export the statistical data that is retrieved from performing Results Analysis?
A: Yes, you can. Follow these steps to export Results Analysis data into Excel:
- On the Results Analysis page, click on “Save Analysis Data to File” and save the text file.
- Open a new Excel spreadsheet.
- Go to the "Data" menu in Excel and select "Import External Data." Then select "Import Data."
- A window called "Select Data Source" will open. Navigate to wherever you saved the text file in step 1 and open it.
- Now a wizard walks you through the rest. In Step 1 of the wizard, simply click on "Next."
- In Step 2 of the wizard, in the "Text Qualifier" field, select {none\}. Then click on "Next."
- In Step 3 of the wizard, simply click on "Finish." A little window will appear asking you where to put the data. You can just click on "OK." The data should now appear and you can save the file.
Q: Do I need to register and sign in to use ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0?
A: No, you do not need to sign in to use ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0. However, some features are only available to users who sign in. These include:
Saving search profiles to the Thomson Scientific server
Alerting
Table of Contents alerts (if you subscribe to Current Contents Connect)
My Journal List
Personalization
Citation Alerts
Q: I forgot my ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 password, or my password isn't working.
A: If you forget your ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 password simply click on the "Forgot your password?" link. Your password will be emailed to you. If the password you are emailed does not work, please contact your local Thomson Scientific Customer Technical Support team
http://thomsonscientific.com/support/techsupport/.
Q: Is there a limit to how many searches I save on the Thomson Scientific server?
A: No, there is no limit to how many searches you can save on the Thomson Scientific server. However, depending on your institution’s subscription, there could be a limit on the number of alerts you can create from these searches.
Q: What is an alert?
A: Any search histories created in products under the "Searchable Database Products" heading on the ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 home page may be saved as alerts, provided that your organization subscribes to the product's alerting service. The alerting feature has been enhanced based on each specific product to include different frequency options. For example, Current Contents Connect alerts can be set to be run Daily, Weekly or Monthly. Most other products will have weekly and monthly options available. When you save your search history, the appropriate options will be displayed in the “Email Frequency” section. Your first five alerts will display on the blue bar on the right side of the ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 home page.
Q: Is there a maximum number of records that will be sent in my alert emails?
A: Yes. The maximum number of records that you will receive in an alert is 300. If your alert returns more than 100 results, these will be divided into multiple emails. If you find that you are receiving the maximum number of records in your alerts every week, consider editing your saved search to make it more precise. You can also create more than one alert, each one containing some of the search terms in your existing search history.
Q: How can I make changes to my alert preferences (e.g., alert type, email format, email address, etc.)?
A: Sign in to the ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 portal site with your email address and password. Once you are signed in, your first five saved searches in alphabetical order will display on the right. Click the "Open/Manage Saved Searches" link.
Your saved search alert(s) will be displayed. Locate the one you want to change and click the “Settings” button under Modify Settings. Make the desired changes and click on “Save.” Once you receive the confirmation page, click on “Done.”
Q: What is the best alert format to use for importing alert results into ResearchSoft products?
A: We have updated the ISI ResearchSoft alert format so that it now returns results in Field Tagged format instead of Plain Text format. If you are setting up a new alert, you should choose ISI ResearchSoft as the Alert Format. If you already have an alert set up in ISI ResearchSoft format, then your email alerts will continue to arrive in the correct format.
This will make it much easier to import your alert results from your email alert into your ResearchSoft Applications.
Q: Is it possible to receive a journal's table of contents as an alert?
A: Yes, if your institution subscribes to Current Contents Connect. To create this type of alert, first sign in on the ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 home page with your email address and password. Then click on the "Create My Journal List and Table of Contents Alerts" link. Your journal list will be empty. Click the "Add More Journals" button. You have three options to locate journals: search the full or partial title with truncation, browse journal lists arranged alphabetically, or browse by Current Contents Connect edition. If you browse by edition, you will choose a discipline and then choose the journals you want.
You can choose to have your journals display on your personal ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 portal page when you sign in, have them sent to you via email, or both.
Fifty journal titles will display on each page. After checking off the desired journals, click the "Submit Selections" button. If you do not click this button, your selections will not be saved if you go to another page.
Once you have submitted a selection, the chosen journal(s) will display on the "My Journal List" page. You can click the "Add More Journals" button to continue adding titles.
Q: Is there a limit to how many journals I can add to My Journal List?
A: No, there is no limit to how many journals you can add to My Journal List. However, there is a limit to how many Table of Contents alerts can be created by users at your institution, and this depends on your institution’s subscription.
Q: I created a Table of Contents alert but have not received an email yet.
A: Table of Contents alerts are emailed after a new issue of the journal is indexed in Current Contents Connect. If you created a Table of Contents alert for a monthly journal, then you will only receive one email per month.
Q: I received an expiration notice email for my alert. How do I renew the alert so I continue to receive it?
A: Saved Search Alerts expire after 24 weeks. You will receive an expiration notice in addition to your regular alert email when it is time to renew the alert. Table of Contents alerts and Citation Alerts expire after one year.
To renew a Saved Search alert, sign in to the ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 portal site with your email address and password. Once you are signed in, click on the "Open/Manage Saved Searches" link. Your alert(s) will be displayed. Click the "Renew" button for each alert you would like to renew. You will see that the expiration date is reset.
To renew a Table of Contents alert, sign in to the ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 portal site with your email address and password. Click on “View My Journal List.” Your alert(s) will be displayed. Click the “Renew” button for each alert you would like to renew. You will see that the expiration date is reset.
Q: What is a Citation Alert and how do I create one?
A: A citation alert notifies you by email whenever a record you choose has been cited by a new record that has been added to the database.
To create a Citation alert you must first register and sign in on the ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 home page. Next, perform a search in an ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 product and go to an article’s full record page.
On the right side of the page is a button labeled "Create Citation Alert." Clicking this link will add the record to your Citation Alerts list on the ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 home page.
Currently, Citation alerts are available in most of the ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 products. A subscription to Web of Science is required.
Q: How do I make changes to the citation alerts that I have created?
A: After you sign in on the ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 home page, find the "View My Cited Articles List" link on the right under "Citation Alerts." If you have created a citation alert, clicking on this link will bring you to "My Cited Articles List." Now click on the “Modify Settings” button. On the next screen you can de-select the "Send me Citation Alert" setting, change your email address, change the email format, or remove the Citation alert from the list.
Q: How do I cancel an Alert?
A: Sign in on the ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 portal site with your email address and password. Click on "Open/Manage Saved Searches" and then click on the "Settings" button next to the alert you wish to cancel. On the next screen, remove the check box from "Send Me E-mail Alerts:" and click on "Save."
Q: How do I delete a Search History?
A:
Sign in on the ISI Web of Knowledge 3.0 portal site with your email address and password. Once you are signed in, your existing saved searches will display in a blue bar on the right. Click on the "Open/Manage Saved Searches" link.
To delete single saved searches, click the checkbox under the Delete column for each saved search you want to delete, and then click the “Delete” button. Click “Yes” to confirm the deletion. You will be returned to the "Open/Manage Saved Searches" screen.
If you want to delete all the saved searches at once, click the "Select All" button and then click on "Delete." Click "Yes" to confirm that you wish to delete all the saved searches.
Q: What are journal article numbers?
A: Article numbers are used in place of traditional page numbers for electronic documents and can be numeric or alphanumeric. They are also occasionally used in print journals in place of page numbers.
Q: Are journal article numbers searchable?
A: No, they are not searchable.
Q: Does Thomson Scientific capture and display journal article number information for Current Contents Connect records?
A:
If a Current Contents Connect record has only an article number, then the article number is displayed instead of the page number in the Source field. The Article Number field only appears in records that have both page numbers and article numbers.
In the case of American Physical Society journals, the last 4 digits of the article number appear in the page number field in each article record.
Q: Why would a journal use article numbers instead of page numbers?
A: New publishing standards were developed in the last several years, with the advent of electronic publishing. Because of the use of article numbers, numbering between print and electronic versions of the journal is consistent. Articles may be published online first using article numbers. When the print journal issue is released, the same article numbers are used there as well.
Q: What counting method is used for multiple authors of a paper?
A: All authors on a paper are credited equally for the paper, and each citation received by the paper is counted as a whole citation for each of the authors. No restrictions are made on the citing items in compiling the citation counts, other than that they are recorded from Thomson Scientific-indexed journals only.
Q: Why am I getting so many results that do not seem pertinent to my search when searching in the topic field?
A: The search syntax has been revised and the implied search operator has changed from ADJ (adjacency) to AND. Previously, a search on heart attack would have retrieved results with the phrase heart attack. Now, the result set will include all records that contain the words heart and attack anywhere in the record. If you want the result set to include the phrase heart attack, place the phrase in double quotes; “heart attack”. The change in the implied search operator will only effect the topic field and title searches.
Q: The new implied search operator retrieves too many results. How can I narrow my result set.
A: You can search on a phrase by placing the term in double quotes as mentioned above. You can also run the search and then use our ‘Refine Your Results’ feature to narrow down the search results.
Q: How will the new implied AND search operator effect my saved searches and/or email alerts.
A: Your saved searches and email alerts will continue to work properly without any adjustments being made to the. If, however, you update your saved search, the saved search will have to follow the new rules.
