Editorial selection process

Web of Science Core Collection

Learn more about selection and criteria

The robust evaluation and curation of our data make the Web of Science Core Collection™ the world’s most trusted publisher-independent global citation database.

Curated by an expert team of in-house editors, the Web of Science Core Collection is a trusted, high-quality, definitive database for journals, books and conference proceedings. We are guided by the legacy of Dr Eugene Garfield, inventor of the world’s first citation index: we remain true to his principles of objectivity, selectivity and collection dynamics, but also adapt and respond to technological advances and changes in the publishing landscape.

A unique curation process

Publisher neutral

Our editorial decisions are conducted by our expert in-house editors who have no affiliations to publishers or research institutes – removing any potential bias or conflict of interest.

Category knowledge

Each editor is focused on specific subject categories, enabling them to gain a deep, nuanced knowledge of journals in that field.

In-house curation

Our rigorous process for the Web of Science Core Collection™ contrasts with that for other databases that rely on algorithmic approaches and/or delegating aspects of editorial decision-making to the research community.

Our collections are dynamic

These dynamic collections undergo continuous curation to remove low-quality journals and ensure that journals are in the most appropriate collection.

Further information can be found in the journal selection process below.

Check journal coverage

The Web of Science Core Collection selection process

The basic principles of our selection process are objectivity, selectivity and collection dynamics.

We use a single set of 28 criteria to evaluate journals. These are divided into:

24 quality criteria

Designed to select for editorial rigor and best practice at the journal level.

4 impact criteria

Designed to select the most influential journals in their respective fields using citation activity as a primary indicator of impact.

Find out more

Find out more about our selection process and evaluation criteria.

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Submitting your journal for evaluation

To pass our initial triage stage, you will need to provide the following information:

  • ISSN
  • journal title
  • journal publisher
  • URL (online journals)
  • content access
  • presence of peer review policy
  • contact details.

Only publishers of the journal can submit for evaluation and enquire about evaluation status.

Before submitting, please:

How to submit

Journals

Please note: only publishers of the journal can submit for evaluation and enquire about evaluation status.

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Books

Please note: only publishers of the book can enquire about evaluation status.

To submit a book, please email us at:

clarivateeditorialbookrequests@clarivate.com

Conference proceedings

To submit a conference proceeding, please email us at:

tr.pubrelations-proceedings@clarivate.com

Meet the team

Dr Nandita Quaderi, Editor-in-Chief, Web of Science

London 

Nandita leads the Web of Science™ editorial team. She has overall responsibility for setting editorial strategy and for the policy and practices governing the selection process for the Web of Science.

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Marie McVeigh, Head of Editorial Integrity, Web of Science

Philadelphia 

Marie ensures the selection and curation of Web of Science content is completed rigorously and consistently; she investigates ethical questions on content, publishing and citation metrics by day, by night, she is a Citation Ninja.

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Anna Treadway, Executive Editor, Web of Science

London

Anna’s responsibilities include management of the Web of Science Editors to define best practice, implement standard operating procedures and to promote unity across the global editorial team.

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Esheeta Mangalpara, Deputy Executive Editor, Web of Science

London

Esheeta’s responsibilities include management of the Web of Science editors to ensure consistent application of editorial policies, as well as managing workloads and priorities across the global editorial team.

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Aina Borras, Senior Editor, Bibliometrics & Data Visualisation, Web of Science

Barcelona

Aina is leading the effort to define the internal technology platforms needed to support Web of Science editors make objective, data-driven decisions and work as efficiently as possible

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Dr. Mireia Guardingo, Head of Editorial Outreach, Web of Science

Barcelona

Mireia has responsibility for ensuring the Web of Science editorial policies, selection process and evaluation criteria are clearly understood by publishers, Clarivate colleagues, customers and the broader scholarly and research communities.

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Mariana Boletta, Deputy Executive Editor, Web of Science

Philadelphia

Mariana’s responsibilities include management of the Web of Science editors to ensure consistent application of editorial policies, as well as training of new and current editors to support their ability in applying the evolving editorial workflow.   

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Web of Science: editorial disclaimer

As an independent organization, Clarivate does not become involved in, and is not responsible for, the editorial management of any journal or the business practices of any publisher. Publishers are accountable for their journal performance and compliance with ethical publishing standards. The views and opinions expressed in any journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Clarivate. Clarivate remains neutral in relation to territorial disputes, and allows journals, publishers, institutes and authors to specify their address and affiliation details including territory.

Criteria for selection of newly submitted titles and re-evaluation of existing titles in the Web of Science are determined by the Web of Science Editors in their sole discretion. If a publisher’s editorial policy or business practices negatively impact on the quality of a journal, or its role in the surrounding literature of the subject, the Web of Science Editors may decline to include the journal in any Clarivate’s product or service. The Web of Science Editors, in their sole discretion, may remove titles from coverage at any point if the titles fail to maintain our standard of quality, do not comply with ethical standards, or otherwise do not meet the criteria determined by the Web of Science Editors. If a journal is deselected or removed from coverage, the journal will cease to be indexed in the Web of Science from a date determined by the Web of Science Editors in their sole discretion – articles published after that date will not be indexed. The Web of Science Editors’ decision on all matters relating to journal coverage will be final.

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