The Library has subscribed to two new Digital Science databases, namely Dimensions and Altmetric Explorer. They are both now available via the Library’s A-Z database list. We are excited to share this news since both these tools will enhance information retrieval and research evaluation methods at Stellenbosch University.

Dimensions is a vast database that indexes more than 150 million publications, millions of grants from global funders, datasets, and patents. This means that it focuses on mapping the full research lifecycle across diverse datasets. It is also described as a highly exhaustive, linked-data platform, while Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) act as strictly curated, publication-focused citation databases.

Dimensions database includes the following approximate counts for individual content categories:

  • Publications: ~164 million
  • Patent records: ~170 million
  • Datasets: ~42 million
  • Grants: ~8.1 million
  • Preprints: ~4.3 million
  • Policy documents: ~2.5 million
  • Clinical trials: ~938 thousand

Herewith a comparison with the journal coverage of Scopus and Web of Science:.

Dimensions Scopus Web of Science (WoS)
Owner Digital Science Elsevier Clarivate
Journal Coverage  ~77 000+ titles  ~29 000 + titles ~22 000 + titles

Dimensions’ analytical feature offers visual breakdowns of bibliometrics, citation trends (such as Field-Weighted Citation Ratios), co-authorship networks, and funding sources. Its integration with the network analysis tool, VOSViewer, is helpful to view built-in network visualisations related to co-occurrence keywords, co-authors, co-citations, etc.

Altmetric Explorer, on the other hand, is a tool that evaluates impact by means of non-traditional online attention (altmetrics) given to academic research and scholarly outputs. Altmetric monitors mainstream media, social networks, policy documents, Wikipedia, blogs, and patents for mentions of research items. It also aggregates data into visual dashboards showing demographics, attention over time, geographic reach, and specific sources.

A training session will take place in September, which will offer demonstrations on how to use these two tools effectively. The specific date and time will be communicated soon.

Enquiries: Marié Roux