Thursday, February 28, 2008

Upcoming EBSCOhost improvements

EBSCO has just notified us that this summer (July 2008), EBSCOhost will receive a brand new look and feel, based on extensive user testing and feedback, to provide you with the most powerful, clean and intuitive interface available. This is the first redesign of the EBSCOhost interface since 2002, and its functionality incorporates the latest technological advances.

An overview of EBSCOhost 2.0 is provided in a Flash demonstration (http://www.ebscohost.com/2.0_flash).

To view the EBSCOhost 2.0 web pages and learn more about its key features, go to http://www.ebscohost.com/thisTopic.php?marketID=1&topicID=969.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Authors: Check your H-index in the Web of Science

The H-index measures the productivity of a researcher and the impact of their work. The Web of Science offers a calculation of an author's H-index based on all of an author's publications that are indexed by the Web of Science.

Instructions on finding your H-index.

1. Go to the Web of Science.
2. Select author from the drop down menu next to the first search box. Click on the blue author finder link under the search box. (Please note the author finder option only appears when the drop down menu is changed to an author search.)
3. Type in the last name, first initial and middle initial of the author. Click Next.
4. Select the author names from the list that match the person you are searching on. Please be aware, middle initials may not be used in all article citations. Click Next to further refine your search or click Finish Now to perform the search.
5. Select all subject categories that apply to an author's body of work. Click Next.
6. Select all institutions that apply. Click Finish Now.
7. The list of articles will be refined to just author(s) with the criteria you selected.
8. Click on Create Citation Report on the menu bar above the results set.
9. The H-index will be displayed next to the “Citations in Years” graph.

The citation report can be generated from any general search for an author as well. The author finder feature creates a more refined search to distinguish authors with similar names.

If you have any questions on locating the H-index for an author in the Web of Science, please contact Dana Antonucci at dana.antonucci [at] stonybrook.edu.