Multi-query center: Scopus import

Publish or Perish tutorial

Note: This tutorial was originally written for Publish or Perish version 4 and all screenshots come from this version. Later versions of Publish or Perish show the multi-query center at the top of every screen for easier access. Its basic functions are similar to PoP4, however.

If your university has a subscription to Scopus, you can also import data from this database into Publish or Perish, allowing you to calculate a large variety of metrics with data from this database.

Importing saved Scopus searches

Unfortunately direct access of this data-source is not technically possible through Publish or Publish even if your university subscribes to it. However, you can run and save searches in Scopus and import those into Publish or Perish.

Scopus import in five easy steps

1. Conduct a search in Scopus. [If you don’t know how to do this, contact your librarian].

2. Once you have the correct set of results, click on the drop-down field next to the check-box and click Select all to select all records.

3. Click on the drop-down field next to export. You will get a pop-up menu. On that menu, select CSV export and save the file with a meaningful name. Do not change anything under "Choose the information to be exported". Doing so will make the file unreadable for Publish or Perish.

 

4. This provides you with a .csv file that you can import into Publish or Perish, simply by clicking on the New Import icon [See multi-query center] or by clicking File/Import External Data.

5. You will then see the following screenshot. Click on OK and Publish or Perish will import the Scopus data into the multi-query center. The results will appear in the folder that you are in when you import the data.

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The result: a compact list of publications ready for further analysis

The result is a neat list of publications that can then be sorted in any way you want. Statistics and results can be exported for further analyses just like the results of Google Scholar searches.

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Comparing metrics across data-sources

Even if you are not doing any bibliometric research, the multi-query center allows you to instantly compare citation metrics from different data-sources. The screenshot below shows that in my case there is quite a big difference between the three data-sources. As discussed in From h-index to hIa: The ins and outs of research metrics, this is quite typical for a Social Science scholar.

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The development of the Publish or Perish software is a volunteering effort that has been ongoing since 2006. Download and use of Publish or Perish is and will remain free (gratis), but your support toward the costs of hosting, bandwidth, and software development are appreciated. Your support helps further development of Publish or Perish for new data sources and additional features.

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