Web of Science sign in

Information about signing in to a Web of Science session

The Web of Science sign in dialog box appears automatically when you perform a Web of Science search but are not currently signed in to a Web of Science session.

To use Web of Science from Publish or Perish, you or the organization that you work for must have a Web of Science Web Services (APIs) subscription and then sign in to Web of Science from within the Publish or Perish software.

IMPORTANT: The Web of Science Web Services (APIs) subscription is different from a standard web browser-based Web of Science subscription and is not included in all organizational subscriptions. Please check with your local Clarivate representative to verify if Web Services (API) access is included in your subscription.

Use the following link to guide your Clarivate representative to the correct information page:

Web of Science Web Services (APIs)

With a subscription, you can use Web of Science in one of two ways:

  1. Anonymously, if your computer is currently connected to the network of an organization that subscribes to Web of Science. This requires no special action on your part.
  2. With a registered user name and password. This requires that you have registered for your own Web of Science account while (at the time of registration only) your computer was connected to your organization's network.

The second option allows roaming (off-campus) access to Web of Science.

How to register for a Web of Science account

According to the instructions on the Web of Science web site:

  1. Go to webofscience.com from an IP authenticated computer (i.e., from a computer that is currently connected to the network of an organization that subscribes to Web of Science).
  2. Click Sign In along the top navigation.
  3. Click Register to create a new account. You will be asked to enter your e-mail address to verify that an account does not already exist for you.
  4. If an account does not already exist, you will be prompted to fill in the User Registration page.
  5. After the user name and password you have entered are verified, the registration will become active and you can use them to sign into Web of Science from Publish or Perish (see next).

Signing in to Web of Science from Publish or Perish

The dialog box explains the various sign in options (see below); it contains the following fields:

Field name Description
(main text field) General explanation of the sign in process and its various options.
Anonymous sign in

Choosing this option instructs Publish or Perish to attempt an on-site sign in without the use of any specific credentials.

It consists of contacting the Web of Science server for authorization based on the network address of your computer and will only work if your computer resides on the network of an organization (such as a university) with a valid subscription to Web of Science.

Roaming sign in

This option requires a valid user name and password that correspond to a subscriber account known to Web of Science. The account must be valid for roaming (i.e., off-campus) access to Web of Science. Publish or Perish will then sign in on your behalf to the Web of Science HTTP server.

Note: To remain valid, roaming sign in requires that you occasionally (every few months) sign in to Web of Science from an on-campus location of the institution that subscribes to Web of Science.

Direct sign in

This option requires a valid user name and password that correspond to a subscriber account known to Web of Science. Publish or Perish will then offer these credentials to the Web of Science server.

The direct sign in method differs from the Roaming sign in method in that it contacts the Web of Science database server directly instead of going through the HTTP server; this may or may not work better in some situations.

User name Enter the user name for the account that you want to use for roaming or direct sign in to Web of Science.
Password Enter the password corresponding to the account used for roaming or direct sign in.
Sign in Click this button to sign in to Web of Science with the chosen method, then close the dialog box.
Cancel Click this button to dismiss the dialog box without signing in to Web of Science.