Joris van Rossum talks about Scopus content

End user and librarian approved

Joris van Rossum is a man with a mantra. As the former Product Manager of Content for Scopus, the Scopus content strategy rolls easily off his tongue:
“Completeness, comprehensiveness, currency and transparency.”

After all, he helped formulate that strategy and was instrumental in creating the committee that helps to see that it is carried out. The Scopus Content Selection and Advisory Board (CSAB) advises the Scopus team on the development and growth of Scopus content and helps ensure that it remains current, international and relevant.

From the beginning, I made sure that the Scopus team relied on its user base to help create a successful, user-friendly product. Our user centered design ensures that the features, functionalities and interface and the content coverage suit all the different users we have. Some products out there rely on internal staff to select and advise on content, but we are of the opinion that our end users and librarians should be included in the decision-making process.

In fact, many of the titles that the CSAB reviews are initially recommended by individual Scopus users via our online form (www.info.scopus.com/suggesttitle). The CSAB reviews all suggestions annually to ensure that both content quality and relevance remain excellent. So, we can state that Scopus content really is end user and librarian approved. A lot of people ask how we receive and upload content. We work with over 4000 publishers worldwide, with whom we have delivery agreements. About half of the material is received electronically, the rest in print format. The first step is to extract the abstract and citation information from the full text. This is a manual process carried out by subject specialists.

Next, the data is loaded into a production database and quality controlled for accuracy. After that, the records are loaded into the Scopus Warehouse, whose main function is to link references and articles, thus creating a citation count. Here we’re working with sophisticated algorithms that deliver a very high precision level. Finally, the records are sent to www.scopus.com, where they are made searchable and retrievable for users. The same process takes place when an error is reported or a content gap is filled. With any undertaking on such a massive scale, there are bound to be some minor omissions, and we have been working hard with publishers to identify and close gaps in content from 1996-2006. In other words, we are working very hard on the “completeness” and “comprehensiveness” part of the mantra. We aim to have complete coverage of journals from 1996 onwards. However, the CSAB has indicated that adding records from material before 1996 has a high priority.

So our next major program is to increase the depth of our holdings by uploading the archives of major publishers, thus significantly increasing our backfiles to volume 1 issue 1 wherever possible, especially in the areas of Physics, Chemistry and Social Sciences. Scopus intends to upload material going back deep into the 19th century! Another aspect the team is constantly improving is transparency of coverage in Scopus.

For instance, the new source browse information – year span of coverage, non-active or ceased titles, title changes, mergers and splits, and the latest issue – will give users an instant and clear picture of what they are searching.

Now, as Head of Scirus, Elsevier’s free science internet search engine, I still see that I have a role to play in the future development of Scopus. As more and more web search features are integrated from Scirus into Scopus, the challenge will be to ensure excellence in web content as well. I plan to continue working with the CSAB to see that users have a say in the web content. If you want to find out more about Scopus coverage, content processing, plans for the future and the CSAB, take a look at: http://www.info.scopus.com/docs/content_coverage.pdf