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Updated: Dec 20, 2025
Comparing Bibliometric Analysis Using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science Databases
Published on: October 24, 2019
[Database indexing of health science journals from the German-speaking area: A journal analysis]
Julian Hirt1, Sabine Brinkmann2, Ricardo Cadima3
1Institut für Angewandte Pflegewissenschaft, Fachbereich Gesundheit, FHS St.Gallen, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften, St.Gallen, Schweiz; Internationale Graduiertenakademie, Institut für Gesundheits- und Pflegewissenschaft, Medizinische Fakultät, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Deutschland; Fachbereich Gesundheitsfachberufe, Deutsches Netzwerk Evidenzbasierte Medizin e.V. (EbM-Netzwerk), Berlin, Deutschland.
Background:
Journal hand searching offers the possibility to complement a literature search as part of systematic reviews and other evidence syntheses. Hand searching is indicated in cases where scientific journals with potentially relevant publications addressing the research question are not indexed in a literature database. However, it is often unclear whether these journals are actually indexed, and when they are, in which literature databases. In many cases, it is also unknown which journals should be searched by hand in addition to systematic literature search after databases to be searched have been specified. Therefore, the project aimed to investigate the indexation of selected scientific health science journals and to provide an overview of indexation in order to facilitate the hand search planning process.
Methods:
Journals from German-speaking countries covering eight professional fields (medical laboratory assistance, occupational therapy, midwifery, logopedics, nursing, physiotherapy, public health and rehabilitation) were considered that publish original research papers or systematic reviews or other review types in German and/or English. Two researchers per field identified relevant journals and independently analyzed the indexing locations using the journal websites. In case of missing information, we contacted the editors.
Results:
A total of 70 journals were included: from 1 to 17 journals per field. These journals are indexed in 1 to 29 databases. Twelve journals are not indexed or do not offer information concerning indexation. Indexation is distributed across n=74 different literature databases. Most journals are indexed in LIVIVO (n=55) and bibnet.org (n=33). Other common indexing databases are Scopus (n=18), Web of Science Core Collection (n=16), PSYNDEX (n=13), and Embase (n=10).
Conclusions:
The results indicate a heterogeneous indexation of the included journals. Only a small number is indexed in common international literature databases such as MEDLINE or CINAHL. On the other hand, only a few journals are not indexed in any database. The results can be used as a basis to define databases for literature searches as part of systematic reviews. In addition, the findings might guide the selection of journals for hand searching after literature databases have been defined.
