From indexation policies through citation networks to normalized citation impacts: Web of Science, Scopus, and Dimensions as varying resonance chambers

TL;DR

This study compares Web of Science, Scopus, and Dimensions databases to understand their structural differences and how they influence citation impact assessments across various research sectors.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the structural differences and impact evaluations of the three major bibliometric databases using citation network analysis.

Findings

Core publications are highly self-referential across all databases.

Exclusive publications show low relevance and differ among databases.

German sectors are rated more impactful in Scopus and Dimensions.

Abstract

Dimensions was introduced as an alternative bibliometric database to the well-established Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus, however all three databases have fundamental differences in coverage and content, resultant from their owners' indexation philosophies. In light of these differences, we explore here, using a citation network analysis and assessment of normalised citation impact of "duplicate" publications, whether the three databases offer structurally different perspectives of the bibliometric landscape or if they are essentially homogenous substitutes. Our citation network analysis of core and exclusive 2016-2018 publications revealed a large set of core publications indexed in all three databases that are highly self-referential. In comparison, each database selected a set of exclusive publications that appeared to hold similarly low levels of relevance to the core set and to one another, with slightly more internal communication between exclusive publications in Scopus and Dimensions than WoS. Our comparison of normalised citations for 41,848 publications indexed in all three databases found that German sectors were valuated as more impactful in Scopus and Dimensions compared to WoS, particularly for sectors with an applied research focus. We conclude that the databases do present structurally different perspectives, although Scopus and Dimensions with their additional circle of applied research vary more from the more base research-focused WoS than they do from one another.