How readers discover content in scholarly publications

ING AND INDEXING SERVICES OR SPECIALIST BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASES Major subject A&Is – e.g. Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, focus on structured access to the highest quality information within a discipline. They typically cover all the key literature but not necessarily all the literature in a discipline. Their utility flows from the perceived certainty and reassurance that they offer to users in providing the authoritative source of search results within a discipline. However, they cannot boast universal coverage of the literature – they provide good coverage of a defined subject niche, but reduce the serendipitous discovery of peripheral material. Also, many A&Is are sold at a premium, which in itself is a barrier to their use. Examples from a wide range of subjects were given in the survey questions to help surveyees understand this classification.