Web of Science Journals: A Complete Guide for Researchers

Web of Science (WoS) is a citation database managed by Clarivate Analytics. It indexes high-quality journals across science, social sciences, arts, and humanities.

Web of Science indexes reputed journals. The Web of Science journals core collection is grouped into four categories: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), and Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI).

Core CollectionNo. of Journals
Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)9,449 journals
Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)3,541 journals
Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI)1,807 journals
Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)9,291 journals
Total22,938

WoS journals publish research across all major fields, including:

  • Agriculture, Biology & Environmental Sciences
  • Arts & Humanities
  • Business Collection
  • Clinical Medicine
  • Electronics & Telecommunications Collection
  • Engineering, Computing & Technology
  • Life Sciences
  • Physical, Chemical & Earth Sciences
  • Social And Behavioral Sciences

Publish Open Access

Out of 22,938 total Web of Science (WoS) journals, 6,662 journals are listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). These DOAJ-listed journals are published as open access and are freely available for anyone to read and download.

These Open Access Web of Science Journals may charge Article Processing Charges (APCs).

List of Free-to-Publish Open Access Journals

Journal Citation Report and Impact Factor

Clarivate publishes the Journal Citation Report (JCR) every year for the journals indexed in Web of Science. JCR includes:

  • Impact Factor (IF)
  • Quartile ranking (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4)
  • Citation performance

A total of 21,939 journals were included in the JCR 2024.

Benefits of Publishing in Web of Science Journals

Research Papers published in the Web of Science journals receive global recognition.

Publications in WoS journals are mandatory in various Institutions for Ph.D., post-doctoral, and faculty promotions.

Research in these journals tends to have high academic credibility and higher citations.

These journals are trusted by universities and funding agencies.

Web of Science vs Scopus

Both are leading academic databases.

FeatureWeb of ScienceScopus
Managed byClarivateElsevier
MetricsImpact FactorCiteScore & SJR
Journal SelectionVery strictSlightly broader
PrestigeVery highHigh


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