Guide · Export and import
How to export Web of Science results for a literature review
Short answer
- 1Set Search in to Web of Science Core Collection, then run your search.
- 2On the results page, open Export and choose BibTeX.
- 3Choose Records from 1 to 500.
- 4Set Record Content to Full Record and Cited References.
- 5Click Export, then repeat from 501 to 1000, and so on, until every record is saved.
By Kushan Liyana Arachchige, Research MindUpdated
01Before you export: choose the collection and record the search
Web of Science is Clarivate's citation index. Most reviews search the Web of Science Core Collection, which brings together several citation indexes, such as the Science Citation Index Expanded and the Social Sciences Citation Index. Your institution's subscription decides which of these indexes, called editions, you can search.
Set Search in to Web of Science Core Collection before you search. Other collections, or all databases at once, return records with fewer fields. If your protocol names particular editions, choose them under Editions and write them down: PRISMA-S asks you to report the platform and the indexes you searched, as well as the query and the date.
Once the search has run, note the number of results at the top of the page. You will use it to check that your batches add up to the whole set.
02Export the full record and cited references in batches
On the results page, open Export and choose BibTeX. SLReviewFlow asks for BibTeX because it carries the cited references. A file without them, such as the Excel exports researchers have uploaded so far, is not imported.
23,326 results from Web of Science Core Collection for:
In the export window, choose Records from and enter 1 to 500. Web of Science exports no more than 500 records at a time when cited references are included. Then set Record Content to Full Record and Cited References and click Export.
Export Records to BibTeX File
Record Options
No more than 500 records at a time
Record Content:
Repeat for 501 to 1000, 1001 to 1500, and so on. On the last batch, enter the exact total as the upper limit. Web of Science names every file savedrecs, so rename each one as it downloads, for example wos-2026-10-26-0001-0500.bib, and keep them in one folder.
03What a Web of Science export brings into your review
The full record carries the abstract, author keywords and Keywords Plus, which are terms Web of Science derives from the titles of the cited works. It also has the Web of Science categories, author addresses, funding details, citation counts and ORCID identifiers where authors have them. With cited references included, each record also lists the works it cites, ready for citation searching and analyses.
- Abstract
- Keywords
- Subject terms
- Affiliations
- Funding
- Times cited
- Cited references
- Open access
Each record has its own accession number, the UT, written as WOS: followed by fifteen digits. SLReviewFlow uses it with the DOI and the PubMed ID to match the same work across batches, searches and databases.
- Web of ScienceYour search, with its date and query
- Import fileBibTeX batches of 500, full record and cited references
- Search in SLReviewFlowUpload the file under the search it came from
- PoolDuplicates matched on DOI, UT, PMID, then title, authors and year
04What Web of Science leaves out, and how to work around it
- Coverage depends on your subscription. Two institutions can search “Web of Science” and get different results because they subscribe to different editions and year ranges. Report the editions you searched.
- Selective coverage. The Core Collection indexes journals that meet Clarivate's selection criteria, so it holds fewer regional, non-English and new journals than some other databases. Pair it with a database such as Scopus, OpenAlex or a subject index.
- Excel exports so far have had no cited references. SLReviewFlow doesn't import them, so export as BibTeX instead.
05Doing it in SLReviewFlow
Add the Web of Science files in SLReviewFlow
- In Sources, add Web of Science, then record the search with its date, query, editions and number of results.
- Upload every batch under that one search. SLReviewFlow warns you if a file has no cited references.
- Build the pool with your other databases. The duplicates guide explains what happens next.
06Common problems
Why is my Web of Science export missing cited references?
The file was exported with Record Content set to Full Record, or another option without cited references. SLReviewFlow doesn’t import a Web of Science file without cited references, so export again as BibTeX with Full Record and Cited References, and check this option on every batch.
Can I export as Tab delimited or Plain text?
Not for SLReviewFlow. Some bibliometric tools ask for those formats, but SLReviewFlow asks for Web of Science exports in BibTeX. If you already have a tab-delimited or Excel file, export the same records again as BibTeX.
What is Fast 5000?
An export of up to 5,000 records at once with basic details only; library guides describe it as author, title and source. Without abstracts or cited references it is not suitable for screening, so use batches of 500 instead.
How do I record the query?
Open Search History, or Advanced Search, to see the full query with its field tags, and copy it from there. Note the editions you searched, because they change the results.
07References
- Clarivate. Web of Science Core Collection help: exporting records. https://webofscience.help.clarivate.com/en-us/Content/export-records.htm
- Tilburg University. Exporting data from Web of Science. https://uvt-scholarly.readthedocs.io/en/latest/usage/wos/
- 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