Guide · Export and import
How to export Scopus results for a literature review
Short answer
- 1Turn on Advanced query and copy the full query with the copy icon.
- 2Tick the box beside All to select every result.
- 3Open Export and choose CSV.
- 4Click Select all information, so every group is ticked, including Include references.
- 5Leave Truncate to optimize for Excel switched off.
- 6Click Export and keep the file as it downloads.
By Kushan Liyana Arachchige, Research MindUpdated
01Before you export: record the search
Scopus is a large multidisciplinary abstract and citation database from Elsevier. It covers journals, books and conference proceedings across science, medicine, social science and the humanities, and its export can carry almost every field a review needs, including the reference list of each record.
Before you export, record three things for your methods section and flow diagram: the date, the exact query, and the number of results Scopus reports. PRISMA-S asks for the full search as run, so copy the query from Scopus itself rather than retyping it.
Switch on Advanced query above the search box. Scopus then shows the whole query as one string, including the filters you set in the sidebar, such as document type or language, written as LIMIT-TO clauses. Copy it with the copy icon and paste it into the search in SLReviewFlow. Because the filters are part of the copied text, copy the query after you have applied them.
02Export every result as CSV
Select the results first. Ticking the box beside All selects every result of the search, not only the page you can see. Then open Export and choose CSV under File types. CSV is the format SLReviewFlow reads for Scopus; RIS and BibTeX carry fewer fields.
194 documents found
The export window lists five groups of fields. Click Select all information so that every group and every field is ticked. Check that Include references, the last item under Other information, is ticked: it adds the reference list of each record, which you need for citation searching and citation analyses.
Export 194 documents to CSV
What information do you want to export?
- Author(s)(on)
- Document title(on)
- Year(on)
- EID(on)
- Source title(on)
- Volume, issues, pages(on)
- Citation count(on)
- Source & document type(on)
- Publication stage(on)
- DOI(on)
- Open access(on)
- Affiliations(on)
- Serial identifiers (e.g. ISSN)(on)
- PubMed ID(on)
- Publisher(on)
- Editor(s)(on)
- Language of original document(on)
- Correspondence address(on)
- Abbreviated source title(on)
- Abstract(on)
- Author keywords(on)
- Indexed keywords(on)
- Number(on)
- Acronym(on)
- Sponsor(on)
- Funding text(on)
- Tradenames & manufacturers(on)
- Accession numbers & chemicals(on)
- Conference information(on)
- Include references(on)
Leave Truncate to optimize for Excel switched off. Spreadsheet programs limit how much text one cell can hold, and this option shortens long cells to fit, which can cut abstracts and reference lists part way through. SLReviewFlow reads the full file, so nothing needs shortening. Then click Export. Large exports can take a few minutes to prepare.
03What a Scopus export brings into your review
A full Scopus CSV carries every field group SLReviewFlow uses. Abstracts and keywords support title and abstract screening. Indexed keywords, the terms Scopus adds from its own vocabularies, help you check whether relevant records share terms your query missed. Affiliations, funding details and citation counts feed descriptive analyses of the studies you include, and the cited references open up citation searching.
- Abstract
- Keywords
- Subject terms
- Affiliations
- Funding
- Times cited
- Cited references
- Open access
Scopus also gives each record an identifier of its own, the EID, alongside the DOI and, for many medical records, the PubMed ID. SLReviewFlow uses all three to recognise the same work when it appears in another database or in a second Scopus search.
- ScopusYour search, with its date and query
- Import fileScopus CSV with every field
- Search in SLReviewFlowUpload the file under the search it came from
- PoolDuplicates matched on DOI, EID, PMID, then title, authors and year
04What Scopus leaves out, and how to work around it
- Some records have no DOI. Older papers, conference papers and some book chapters often lack one. Duplicates are then matched on the EID, the PubMed ID, or title, authors and year, so a few close matches may need your decision in the pool.
- Coverage is broad but not complete. Scopus indexes selected journals and proceedings. Theses, many reports and some regional journals are missing, so pair it with a subject database or a grey literature source for your field.
- Preprints sit in a separate tab. The results list shows Documents by default. If your protocol includes preprints, search the Preprints tab separately and record it as its own search.
05Doing it in SLReviewFlow
Add the Scopus file in SLReviewFlow
- In Sources, add Scopus, then record the search with its date, the query you copied and the number of results.
- Upload the CSV under that search. SLReviewFlow reads it and warns you if the cited references are missing.
- Build the pool with your other databases. The duplicates guide explains what happens next.
06Common problems
How many records can I export from Scopus at once?
It depends on what you include. Library guides list up to 20,000 records per CSV file for citation information alone, and fewer when you add abstracts, references and other fields. If your search returns more than one export allows, split it by publication year, export each part, and upload every file under the same search.
Should I tick “Save as preference”?
It is optional. Saving the choice stores it as My CSV settings at the top of the Export menu, which is useful when you run several searches. Check the settings before each export in case they have changed.
Why does my Scopus file have no cited references?
Include references was not ticked in the Other information group, or the file was saved with Truncate to optimize for Excel switched on, which can cut long reference lists. Export again with every field and truncation off.
Can I open the file in Excel before uploading it?
You can look at it, but upload the file Scopus gave you. Saving it again from a spreadsheet can change dates, cut long cells and alter special characters.
07References
- Elsevier. How do I export documents from Scopus? Scopus support. https://www.elsevier.support/scopus/answer/how-do-i-export-documents-from-scopus
- University of Manitoba Libraries. Export limits of databases. https://libguides.lib.umanitoba.ca/SRresourcesForLibrarians/ExportLimits
- Rethlefsen ML, Kirtley S, Waffenschmidt S, et al. PRISMA-S: an extension to the PRISMA statement for reporting literature searches in systematic reviews. Syst Rev. 2021;10:39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-020-01542-z