This document provides instructions for using the Web of Knowledge database. It outlines how to [1] set up an account, [2] search and refine searches, [3] save searches and set up citation alerts, [4] export references to EndNote, [5] measure the impact of authors, and [6] find additional help resources. The goal is to help researchers effectively use Web of Knowledge to find relevant literature and stay up to date on new publications.

1. Getting Started
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Should you require this workbook in another format such as large
print or Braille please contact us at
jrul.researchers@manchester.ac.uk
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2. Contents
1. Signing up to a Web of Knowledge account
2. Searching the Web of Knowledge database
3. Refining your search
4. Saving a search
5. Export your web of Knowledge references into Endnote
6. The impact of the author
7. Setting up a citation alert
8. Further information
1. Setting up a Web of Knowledge account
TASK 1 – Sign up to WoK.
 In WoK click on Sign in at the top of the page.
 Click on Register in the left hand menu
 Use your University email address as your contact details and click
continue.
 Fill out the User Registration details and click Submit Changes to
set up your account.
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3. 2. Searching the Web of Knowledge database
TASK 2 – Carry out a Search
 Search for your keywords in the topic or title field using the drop
down menu and choose a specific date range. Are the results
relevant?
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4. 3. Refining your search.
TASK 3 – Refine your search
 Using the same search as Task
2 use the Refine Results menu
on the left hand side.
 This menu allows you to refine
by general category, subject
areas, a specific author,
document types etc
 Other options are searching by
Funding agency, specific years
and countries.
 Use the Refine Results menu
to reduce the number of
search results and increase the
relevancy of your search.
 Use more options /values to
see the full range of
refinements in a specific area.
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5. 4. Save a Search
TASK 4 – Save a Search
NOTE: You can ONLY save searches and set up alerts/ feeds in the
Web of Science database.
 Carry out a search in the Web of Science database – you can do
this by clicking on the Web of Science tab at the top.
 From your list of search results there is an option at the top
called Search History.
 Click on Search History and you will see a list of all the searches
you have carried out on the database.
 Select one search by using the tick box and then click Save
History / Create Alert.
 Fill out the details and specify if you want to receive Emails on a
weekly or monthly basis and click save.
Each time a new article is added to the database that corresponds to
your search criteria you will be notified by email. It is an easy way to
keep up to date on the latest articles in your field
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6. 5. Export your Web of Knowledge references into EndNote
TASK 5 – Export your Web of Knowledge references into
EndNote.
Carry out a new search and from your search results:
 Mark a few records to save and scroll down to the Output
Records box at the bottom of the screen. Use the tick boxes
to select articles.
 Choose the output options you require in steps 1 and 2 and
at step 3 choose EndNote on the right hand side.
 Choose Export and follow the prompts to export the records
to your EndNote library
The records will be automatically exported to your library.
NOTE: You can also export references into EndNote Web, Reference
Manager, Mendeley, Zotero and standard file formats.
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7. 6. The impact of the author.
TASK 6 – Measuring the impact of an author using Web of
Science.
NOTE: You can ONLY carry out author searches in the Web of Science
database.
 Click on the Web of Science database tab at the top and select the
Author Finder option.
 Add in your supervisors surname and initials or Nancy Rothwell,
President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester. You
would need to type Rothwell in the first box and NJ in the Initials box.
 From the results page select Author and Coauthor Institutions in the
left hand menu and then select more options/ values to locate the
institution e.g. University of Manchester
 Select University of Manchester and then scroll down and click Refine.
 At this point you will probably have more than one result – you need
to tick the records that correspond to your search criteria and select
View Records.
 From the page of results select Create Citation Report on the right
hand side to get a breakdown of the authors impact.
 Key Information includes:
o Published items in Each Year
o Citations in Each Year
o H Index
o List of authors articles
o List of articles that cite each specific article – useful for locating
other research papers.
o Click on the (?) for detailed information on each aspect of the
Citation Report.
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8. 7. Setting up a citation alert.
TASK 7 – Setting up a citation alert.
WoK allows you to set up citation alerts for specific articles so that each time
an article has been cited by another author you can be notified by email with
a link to the new article. This is useful if you want to keep track of who is
citing your work and if you are looking for new articles in your field.
 Carry out a search on Web of Knowledge.
 Click on the title of an article to view the full record.
 On the right hand side you will see the Create Citation Alert.
 Click on the Create Citation Alert link to set it up.
 In the top menu you can access My Citation Alerts to delete your alerts.
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9. 8. Further Information
D
 Setting up your researcherID - From the WoK homepage there is
further information on research ID in the right hand side menu. You
can also sign up or access your ResearchID from this section.
 Support, Tools, Tips – From the Wok Homepage you can access
videos and additional training resources using the right hand menu
 Faculty Team Librarian – For support on any database related
enquiry contact the Faculty Team Librarian responsible for your
subject at:
 http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/academicsupport/subjects/
 The presentation for this session is available at
http://prezi.com/bq_px6kcyxxw/web-of-science/
 This workbook can be downloaded from:
http://jrulenginfo.wordpress.com/
David Hirst, Faculty Team Librarian for MACE & EEE
Tel: 0161 3064932
Email: david.hirst@manchester.ac.uk
MACE & EEE Library blog
30th May 2010
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