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ISI Articles: Understanding Web of Science, Scientific Article Types, Publishers, and Open Access
For researchers, students, academics, and professionals, finding and accessing scientific articles is an essential part of conducting high-quality research. However, terms such as ISI article, Web of Science, SCIE, Scopus, Open Access, Gold OA, Green OA, Hybrid journals, and Subscription articles can sometimes be confusing.
This guide explains the main types of scientific publications, the meaning of ISI and Web of Science indexing, major academic publishers, and the differences between Open Access and subscription-based articles.
What Is an ISI Article?
The term “ISI article” is widely used by researchers to describe a scientific article published in a journal indexed by the Web of Science database.
Historically, ISI referred to the Institute for Scientific Information, an organization founded by Eugene Garfield that became well known for its citation databases. Today, the Web of Science platform is operated by Clarivate.
Therefore, technically speaking, “ISI article” is not a separate type of scientific article. A more accurate expression is:
“An article published in a journal indexed in Web of Science.”
Web of Science Core Collection includes several major citation indexes, including:
- SCIE – Science Citation Index Expanded
- SSCI – Social Sciences Citation Index
- AHCI – Arts & Humanities Citation Index
- ESCI – Emerging Sources Citation Index
Clarivate evaluates journals before including them in Web of Science, and individual publications are subsequently indexed according to their document type and journal coverage.
What Is the Difference Between ISI, Web of Science, and Scopus?
These terms are often used interchangeably, but they refer to different things.
Web of Science (WoS) is a multidisciplinary research and citation database operated by Clarivate.
Scopus is another major multidisciplinary abstract and citation database operated by Elsevier.
A journal can sometimes be indexed in both Web of Science and Scopus. However, being indexed in Scopus does not automatically mean that a journal is indexed in Web of Science, and vice versa.
Researchers should therefore verify the actual indexing status of a journal rather than relying only on statements such as “ISI journal” or “Scopus journal.”
What Are the Main Types of Scientific Articles?
Scientific journals publish different types of academic documents. Common publication types include:
1. Original Research Article
An original research article reports new experimental, theoretical, computational, or observational research.
These papers commonly include:
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Materials and Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusions
- References
Original research articles are among the most important publication types for researchers seeking to report new scientific findings.
2. Review Article
A review article summarizes and critically evaluates previously published research on a specific topic.
Reviews generally do not present a completely new experimental dataset. Instead, they provide an organized analysis of existing literature.
Common forms include:
- Narrative reviews
- Systematic reviews
- Scoping reviews
- Critical reviews
- Bibliometric reviews
3. Short Communication
A short communication presents important scientific findings in a shorter format than a full research article.
4. Technical Note
Technical notes describe new experimental methods, analytical techniques, instruments, procedures, or methodological improvements.
5. Case Report
Case reports are particularly common in medical and clinical research and describe an individual or a small number of cases.
6. Editorial, Letter, and Commentary
Editorials, letters, perspectives, and commentaries provide expert opinions, discussions, or responses concerning specific scientific topics.
The exact classification of document types varies between journals and databases. Web of Science, for example, uses specific document-type classifications for indexing and searching publications.
Major Scientific Publishers
Thousands of scientific journals are published by academic societies, universities, independent publishers, and large international publishing companies.
Some of the major academic publishing groups include:
Elsevier
Elsevier publishes thousands of scientific journals across engineering, materials science, chemistry, medicine, environmental science, physics, and many other disciplines.
Its portfolio includes both subscription journals and journals offering Open Access publishing options. Elsevier currently states that almost all of its more than 3,000 journals enable some form of Open Access publishing, while a substantial number are fully Open Access.
Springer Nature
Springer Nature publishes a large portfolio of journals covering natural sciences, engineering, medicine, social sciences, and other fields.
Its portfolio includes both fully Open Access journals and hybrid journals that combine subscription and Open Access articles.
Wiley
Wiley publishes journals across scientific, technical, medical, and academic disciplines and offers both subscription and Open Access publishing models.
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis publishes a wide range of journals in science, engineering, medicine, social sciences, and humanities.
SAGE
SAGE is a major academic publisher with a strong presence in social sciences, health sciences, and related disciplines.
IEEE
IEEE is particularly important for researchers working in electrical engineering, electronics, computer science, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, and related technologies.
ACS
The American Chemical Society publishes major journals in chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, and related fields.
RSC
The Royal Society of Chemistry publishes a broad range of journals covering chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, and interdisciplinary research.
What Is a Subscription Article?
A subscription article, sometimes called a paywalled article, is an article whose full text is normally available only to users who have access through a subscription, institutional library, or individual purchase.
The article may be freely searchable through databases such as Web of Science or Scopus, but the full-text PDF may require payment or institutional authentication.
For example, a researcher may be able to see:
- Article title
- Authors
- Abstract
- DOI
- Journal
- Publication date
- References
while the full article requires additional access.
Subscription publishing remains an important part of scholarly communication.
What Is Open Access?
Open Access (OA) means that research outputs are available online without requiring the reader to pay an access fee.
However, “free to read” does not always mean “free to reuse.” The license associated with an article determines what users are legally allowed to do with the content.
For this reason, researchers should always check the article’s copyright and license information before redistributing or reusing a full-text article. Clarivate also advises users to consult the copyright owner for reuse and licensing requests.
Types of Open Access Articles
Open Access is not a single publishing model. Several different forms of OA exist.
Gold Open Access
In the Gold Open Access model, the final published version of an article is freely available on the publisher’s website immediately after publication.
Gold Open Access commonly involves an Article Processing Charge (APC) paid by the authors, their institution, or a funding organization.
However, not every Gold OA article necessarily has an APC, and the specific publishing model depends on the journal.
Green Open Access
Green Open Access, also known as self-archiving, involves making an eligible version of a research article available through an institutional repository, subject repository, or another permitted archive.
The publicly available version is often the Accepted Manuscript (AM) rather than the final publisher-formatted Version of Record.
Some publishers impose an embargo period before the accepted manuscript can be made publicly available. The length of the embargo depends on the journal and publisher.
Hybrid Open Access
A hybrid journal is primarily a subscription journal but allows individual authors to make selected articles Open Access, usually by paying an APC.
Consequently, the same journal can contain:
- Subscription/paywalled articles
- Open Access articles
Springer Nature, for example, describes hybrid journals as subscription journals that offer article-level Open Access options.
Bronze Open Access
A Bronze Open Access article can be freely read on the publisher’s website but does not necessarily have a clearly identifiable Creative Commons license granting broad reuse rights.
Therefore, free access should not automatically be interpreted as permission to redistribute the article.
Elsevier, for example, distinguishes Bronze OA from Gold OA because Bronze articles may be freely readable without a Creative Commons end-user license.
Diamond or Platinum Open Access
Diamond Open Access, also called Platinum Open Access, generally means that articles are free for readers and authors do not pay an APC.
The publication costs are instead supported by universities, academic societies, research organizations, governments, grants, or other funding mechanisms.
Open Access Does Not Always Mean the Same Reuse Rights
One of the most important points for researchers is that:
Free to read ≠ free to redistribute.
An article published under a Creative Commons license may provide specific rights for copying, sharing, adaptation, or commercial use depending on the exact license.
For example, CC BY generally provides broad reuse rights provided that the required attribution and license conditions are followed.
Other Creative Commons licenses may impose additional restrictions.
Therefore, before downloading, sharing, republishing, or distributing an article, researchers should check:
- The article’s license
- The copyright holder
- The publisher’s sharing policy
- Whether the available file is the Version of Record, Accepted Manuscript, or Preprint
What Is an Accepted Manuscript?
An Accepted Manuscript (AM) is the version of a paper that has passed peer review and has been accepted for publication, but has not yet undergone the publisher’s final copyediting, typesetting, and formatting.
Many publishers permit authors to deposit an Accepted Manuscript in an institutional or subject repository, sometimes after an embargo period.
This can be an important way for researchers to obtain legal access to scientific literature without purchasing the publisher’s final PDF.
How Can Researchers Find Legal Open Access Versions?
If a scientific article is behind a paywall, researchers can often look for a legally accessible version through:
- The publisher’s Open Access page
- Institutional repositories
- University repositories
- Subject repositories
- Author publication pages
- Research funder repositories
- Open Access discovery services
- Accepted Manuscripts
- Preprints, where appropriate
Web of Science itself provides Open Access information and can link users to legal Gold, Bronze, and Green OA versions when available.
Scopus also provides Open Access filters, including Gold, Hybrid Gold, Bronze, and Green categories.
Why Is the DOI Important?
The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is one of the most useful pieces of information for identifying a scientific article.
A DOI can help researchers locate the correct:
- Article
- Journal
- Publisher
- Publication date
- Authors
- Official article page
- Open Access status
For example:
DOI: 10.xxxx/xxxxx
Providing the DOI when requesting an article search can significantly reduce the possibility of finding the wrong paper.
Need Help Finding a Scientific Article?
Finding the correct version of a scientific paper can sometimes be difficult, particularly when an article is behind a paywall or when multiple manuscript versions exist.
Our Scientific Article Retrieval Service helps researchers locate legally accessible versions of scientific publications, including:
- Open Access articles
- Gold Open Access versions
- Green Open Access copies
- Author manuscripts
- Institutional repository versions
- Publisher-authorized access options
Simply provide the article title, DOI, journal name, or other available information, and we will help identify the appropriate legal access option.
Please note: The availability, licensing conditions, and redistribution rights of scientific articles vary by publisher and individual publication. We do not claim ownership of third-party copyrighted content and do not provide unauthorized copies of articles.