Scopus and Web of Science are two different commercial databases, owned by Elsevier and Clarivate, and SCI, SCIE, SSCI and ESCI are parts of Web of Science. Each database picks its own journals. SCI, SCIE, SSCI and ESCI are not separate databases. Nearly every PhD scholar in India hears “SCI or Scopus paper” in the first year itself. Mostly the person saying it cannot explain what exactly it means.
In departments these names get used like one thing. We open each name, then see where Scopus and WoS differ. There is also a part on what your university or funder most probably means when a rule says “SCI”. You will see how to check any journal against each list yourself in a few minutes. We are not ranking one database over the other. Good researchers use both. What you need to know is which one your rule is naming.
Scopus and Clarivate change their coverage lists and even product names from time to time. Open their official page once before depending on any detail here. Last reviewed September 2026.
Scopus vs Web of Science: the short answer
- Scopus belongs to Elsevier. It is the bigger one, and it has more journals from India and Asia.
- Web of Science belongs to Clarivate. The Core Collection inside it is divided into indexes. When a rule talks about Web of Science, mostly it means SCIE (sciences) or SSCI (social sciences).
- “SCI” in an Indian rule today almost always means SCIE. The old Science Citation Index from the print days got merged into SCIE. So in a journal list you will see “SCIE” and not “SCI”.
- ESCI comes under Web of Science, but it is a different index from SCIE. Many rules which say “SCI” will not accept a journal from ESCI.
- Lot of journals are in Scopus and SCIE both. Many others are in Scopus only. The number that is in SCIE but missing from Scopus is smaller.
When the rule says “Scopus or Web of Science”, your choice of journals is the widest. When it says “SCI/SCIE”, the choice is the narrowest. Clear this point before you shortlist any journal. It can save you months.
Scopus and Web of Science side by side
| Scopus | Web of Science Core Collection | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned by | Elsevier | Clarivate |
| What it is | A single abstract and citation database. It covers journals, book series, conference proceedings and trade journals | A set of separate indexes. SCIE, SSCI, AHCI and ESCI are for journals, and there are also conference proceedings and book citation indexes |
| Size | Bigger. It has more journals, and more of them come from India and other non-Western countries | Smaller and more selective, mainly in the SCIE and SSCI editions |
| Journal metric | CiteScore, and SJR and SNIP (with quartiles on SCImago) | Journal Impact Factor, which comes out once a year in Journal Citation Reports |
| How journals get in | The journal applies, and the independent Content Selection and Advisory Board reviews it | Clarivate’s in-house editors evaluate the journal against its published quality and impact criteria |
| Free way to check a journal | Scopus Sources page (free, no subscription needed) | Master Journal List (free, with a free account for full details) |
| Removes journals? | Yes. Titles get re-evaluated and some are discontinued | Yes. A title can be put on hold or taken out of coverage |
Why the size difference matters to you
Because Scopus is bigger, usually more journals in your subject will qualify when the rule says “Scopus”. The same size also means the quality inside Scopus vary a lot. Some Scopus journals are very good and some are weak. After re-evaluation, Scopus has discontinued a few journals that Indian scholars were using heavily. Our Scopus guide explains how discontinuation happens and what it does to a paper that is already out.
Web of Science also removes journals. Clarivate has dropped titles from coverage when their editorial practices went below its standards, and some of these were from big, well-known publishers. So finding a journal in either database is only the first step of trusting it, not the full check.
The metrics are not interchangeable
The Journal Impact Factor is calculated only from Web of Science data. CiteScore is calculated only from Scopus data. The SJR quartiles you see on the SCImago site are also based on Scopus. If a labmate calls some journal “Q1”, ask him Q1 in which list, because the same journal can be Q1 on SCImago and Q2 in Journal Citation Reports. Our metrics guide goes through these numbers.
SCI, SCIE, SSCI, AHCI and ESCI explained
Web of Science is the full platform. The Core Collection is the selected part, and each journal in it is placed in one of four indexes.
| Index | Full name | Covers | Has an Impact Factor? |
|---|---|---|---|
| SCIE | Science Citation Index Expanded | Natural sciences, engineering, medicine | Yes |
| SSCI | Social Sciences Citation Index | Social sciences, management, economics, education | Yes |
| AHCI | Arts & Humanities Citation Index | Arts, literature, history, philosophy | Yes, since the 2023 JCR release |
| ESCI | Emerging Sources Citation Index | Journals from every field that pass Clarivate’s quality criteria but have not yet met its impact criteria | Yes, since the 2023 JCR release |
What happened to “SCI”
For many decades the Science Citation Index was a smaller selection, printed on paper. SCIE, the “Expanded” one, was the bigger online version. Now Clarivate does not show SCI as a separate edition on the Master Journal List. Journals appear there as SCIE. Old ordinances and many senior scholars still say “SCI”. In practice the thesis section will check if the journal is in SCIE.
ESCI and SCIE: a key distinction
ESCI journals are part of Web of Science. In 2023 Clarivate started giving the Impact Factor to all Core Collection journals, so ESCI journals also have one now. Many scholars get confused at this point. A journal can honestly write “Web of Science indexed, Impact Factor 1.2” on its website and still not be in SCIE. If your rule asks for SCI or SCIE, an ESCI journal does not meet it. Where the rule says only “Web of Science”, the ESCI journal may be fine. Even then, get a written reply from your research cell before you depend on that reading.
Where SSCI and AHCI fit
Scholars in commerce, management, economics, education, psychology or law should look at SSCI and not SCIE. Sometimes a rule drafted by a science faculty says “SCI” and gets applied to social science scholars also, without anybody thinking. If you are from a social science department, ask the department whether SSCI is accepted. Nearly always they say yes, but get it in a mail.
Which one your university or funder actually means
Indian rules mention databases in only a few ways. Below is the usual reading of each. But the thesis section goes by the exact words in your own ordinance.
- “SCI / SCIE journal” means a journal in the SCIE edition of Web of Science. ESCI journals are not counted, and journals that are only in Scopus are also not counted.
- “SCI / Scopus” or “Scopus / Web of Science” means any one of the two databases is fine. Recent PhD ordinances and faculty recruitment rules mostly use this wording.
- “Journal with impact factor” nearly always refers to the Clarivate Journal Impact Factor. The other “impact factors” that commercial websites sell are not counted. Now that ESCI journals also carry an Impact Factor, see whether your rule names SCIE as well.
- “UGC-CARE listed” is the older wording. UGC has discontinued the CARE list, and many universities are now changing their rules. The present position is explained in our UGC-CARE guide.
- “Peer-reviewed / refereed journal” does not name any database, so the decision is with your department. Ask them what proof they will want from you.
The UGC’s 2022 PhD regulations by themselves don’t ask for a paper in any database before thesis submission. When such a condition is there, it is coming from your university’s ordinance or from your department. So two scholars in two universities can get different answers to the same question.
Funders and recruitment
Fellowship schemes, project calls and recruitment notices many times have their own wording, different from your PhD rule. National rankings like NIRF use data from both Scopus and Web of Science. This is one of the reasons universities push faculty and scholars to publish in journals indexed in these two. So read the indexing line of each fellowship or job notice on its own, your PhD rule doesn’t automatically cover it.
How to check a journal against each list
You can do both checks free of cost, and together they take around five minutes. Do them yourself so the result is first-hand. A logo or screenshot on the journal’s own website proves nothing, anybody can paste that. For a more detailed walk-through of the Web of Science side, see our step-by-step SCIE check.
- Get the exact wording of your rule. Read your university’s PhD ordinance, the funder’s call or the recruitment notice. Note the phrase word by word, as it may be “SCI”, “SCI/SCIE”, “Web of Science”, “Scopus or Web of Science” or “indexed in Scopus/WoS with impact factor”.
- Find the journal by ISSN, not by name. Clone journals copy a real journal’s name, so take the ISSN from the real journal’s own site and confirm it on the ISSN portal.
- Scopus: put the ISSN in the free Scopus Sources page. See that the coverage goes till the current year. Also look through Elsevier’s discontinued titles list once.
- Web of Science: put the ISSN in the Master Journal List and see which collection it shows, SCIE, SSCI, AHCI or ESCI.
- Match the result to the rule. Say the rule asks for “SCIE” and the journal comes up in ESCI. Then it does not satisfy the rule, though both are part of Web of Science.
- Save proof. Keep a dated screenshot of each result. Coverage can change later and the research cell may ask what the database showed on your submission day.
Common things that go wrong
A journal’s Scopus coverage can stop in some year while the title still shows on the Sources page. So look at the coverage years and don’t stop at the name. One publisher can have some journals in SCIE and some in ESCI, and a few in neither, so check the exact title you are submitting to. A hijacked website can even show the ISSN of the real journal. If the website address on the Master Journal List or Scopus record is different from the one you were given, believe the database. Clone and hijacked journals are covered in detail in our predatory journal guide.
Should you aim for Scopus or Web of Science?
First look at the rule. After that, look at your paper.
When your rule says SCIE, only an SCIE journal will work. Make your shortlist from the Master Journal List after filtering by your subject category. Be ready for a review that is at least as strict as in a good Scopus journal.
When your rule accepts either database, pick the journal by how well it suits your paper, and don’t pick by database. Suppose a Scopus journal matches your topic well, reviews the paper properly and publishes it. That is worth more to your thesis than a poorly matched SCIE journal which rejects it after four months. In engineering and the sciences, most good journals are anyway indexed in both.
Once your rule is clear, the database question is mostly settled. The harder part is scope fit, review time and cost. Our guide on how to choose a journal takes you through it step by step.
Want a specialist to help with this in your own work? Scopus Journal Selection and Submission Guidance: a free first consultation, then a written scope and fixed quote.
Sources
FAQ
Questions scholars ask
Is SCI better than Scopus?
SCIE is smaller and more selective, so getting into an SCIE journal is harder on average. How good a journal is, you judge from that journal only, not the database name. Many journals are in both anyway. For your PhD, the only thing to see is which database your rule names.
The journal says “indexed in Web of Science”. Does that mean SCI?
Not always. The journal may be in ESCI only, or the claim itself may be wrong. Put the ISSN in the Master Journal List and see which collection comes up.
Is Google Scholar indexing the same as Scopus indexing?
No, it is not. Google Scholar picks up nearly anything that looks academic, and there is no selection process for a journal to pass. As far as we know, no Indian PhD rule treats it as indexing.
Is there a charge for checking a journal’s Scopus or Web of Science status?
No charge. Both the Scopus Sources page and Clarivate’s Master Journal List are free to use. For the full details on the Master Journal List you only have to make a free account.
My paper was published when the journal was in Scopus, but Scopus later discontinued it. Does my paper still count?
Usually Scopus keeps the content that was indexed before the discontinuation date. Whether your paper still counts is for your university to decide. Ask to your research cell about it. Also keep dated proof that shows the journal’s status at the time your paper came out.
Are conference papers in Scopus accepted for PhD requirements?
It depends on the university. A few universities count a Scopus-indexed conference paper also. Many others count journal articles only. Read the exact words in your ordinance before you select a conference with this in mind.
