Web of Science

Web of Science (WoS) is a multidisciplinary citation database that supports structured search queries with field tags and Boolean operators.

Run a Query

Queries in Web of Science can be constructed using:

• the Basic search interface, or

• the Advanced search interface, which allows for precise control using field tags (e.g., TI=, TS=, AU=).

When working with search-query, we recommend copying the Advanced search query string directly for use as the search_string.

Note

Web of Science supports structured queries using field tags such as TS= (Topic), TI= (Title), AB= (Abstract), AU= (Author), etc.

You should include these tags explicitly in the search_string. Leave the general_search_field empty unless the entire query is uniformly scoped to a single field.

Store a Query

When storing a Web of Science query:

• Use the Advanced search query string as the search_string.

• Leave the general_search_field empty unless all terms share the same field tag.

Example:

(TS="digital health") AND (TS="privacy")

Best Practices and Recommendations

• Prefer Advanced Search for reproducible and structured queries.

• Use explicit field tags (TS=, TI=, AB=, etc.) instead of relying on default fields.

Resources

• Field Tags Reference

• Web of Science Errors

Note

Field tags on this page are outdated (e.g., “DI” no longer works).