Web of Science Conference Proceedings Citation Index Evaluation Process and Selection Criteria

Web of Science Core Collection

The curation process for Web of Science Core Collection™ is unique: our editorial decisions are conducted by our expert in-house editors who have no affiliations to publishing houses or research institutes thus removing any potential bias or conflict of interest.

Only publishers may submit proceedings volumes for evaluation. Conference organizers should contact their publisher to check submission status. Publishers interested in submitting proceedings for evaluation for Conference Proceedings Citation Index (CPCI) must establish a partnership with Clarivate. Eligibility for partnership is subject to the publisher’s ability to submit proceedings suitable for evaluation, as assessed by our editors.

We receive a high volume of interest in partnerships and are unable to consider all proceedings for coverage. Our priorities are driven by the needs of our global community. This includes prioritizing proceedings from conferences held within the current and the previous year, as per our ‘Timeliness and Publication Volume’ criterion described below. If it is clear the majority of a publisher’s catalog and policies do not align with these priorities and/or any of the criteria below, a partnership will not be established. Publishers may reapply in the future if subsequent proceedings meet our requirements.

We use a single set of 26 criteria to evaluate conference proceedings volumes. These are designed to select for editorial rigor and best practice at the proceedings volume level. The evaluation process described below applies to conference proceedings published as stand-alone volumes related to a specific conference. Proceedings selected for Conference Proceedings Citation Index (CPCI) must pass all criteria. Proceedings that fail any of the selection criteria will be rejected for coverage.

Our selection is at the level of the publication and not the event, although conference features that impact publication output such as the conference committee composition and review process are considered in the evaluation.

Coverage of proceedings from previous years of a conference event does not guarantee acceptance of subsequent volumes. Each volume receives an independent evaluation. Therefore, publishers should avoid claims that a proceedings volume will be indexed in Web of Science Core Collection unless that volume has been formally accepted for coverage.

Note that proceedings papers published in journals indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection are selectively covered in CPCI. In order to be covered in CPCI, proceedings papers published in journals need to be identified explicitly as having been presented at a specific conference and include complete conference information (Name, Date and Location of conference). Journals are selected for coverage following the Web of Science Journal Evaluation Process and Selection Criteria.

Description of Evaluation Steps and Criteria

Initial Triage

The principal purpose of this triage step is to ensure unambiguous identification of the conference proceedings submitted for evaluation and to know who to contact if we have any queries or concerns. There is no embargo period for re-submission if proceedings do not pass initial triage for issues that are resolvable.

Proceedings Title

The proceedings must have a distinct title that is aligned with the conference from which the proceedings derive. The title should be consistently displayed at the level of the paper, publication, and website (if available).

Proceedings Publisher

The publisher name must be clearly defined, and a verifiable, physical address (not P.O. Box) for the publisher’s business offices must be provided. If there is a society affiliation or ownership, this should be stated, and verifiable contact information must be provided.

Publication Year

The year of publication must be clearly stated.

Conference Title, Date, Location

The conference details must be clearly and consistently displayed on all platforms (electronic and/or print) and be consistent at the paper, publication, and conference level. The conference must have a distinct title that is aligned with the stated scope, published content, and community demographic (committee, presenters, and authors). In the case of conferences held virtually, this should be made explicit.

DOIs, Paper Numbering, or Continuous Pagination

Sequential pagination, paper numbering, or DOIs should be present to enable the unambiguous identification of unique items of content.

Content Access

The Web of Science editorial team must have full access to the published content with all necessary permissions to view that content. The Web of Science will provide IP ranges if needed. Alternatively, publishers may provide a non-expiring username and password. For print-only proceedings, access to a digitized version of the content must be arranged.

Contact Details

Contact details for the submitted proceeding’s primary editorial and production roles must be provided to allow direct communication between the Web of Science and the proceedings staff.

Editorial Triage

In this step, the Web of Science editors review the proceedings to determine whether a full editorial evaluation is merited. If a proceedings volume does not pass this step, it is not eligible for re-submission.

Proceedings Papers

The publication must contain primarily full proceedings papers. The academic level should be appropriate to a graduate, post-doctoral, and/or professional research audience. Established editorial conventions such as descriptive paper titles, full cited references and paper abstracts should be followed. Papers are expected to have been presented at the conference and open to discussion.

Paper Titles and Paper Abstracts in English

Regardless of the language of the main body of published content, the proceedings must provide an accurate, comprehensible English language translation of all paper titles. Proceedings papers must have abstracts, and those abstracts must be translated to English.

Bibliographic Information in Roman Script

Cited references, names, and affiliations must be published in Roman script to allow rapid, accurate indexing, and easy comprehension by our global users.

Clarity of Language

For titles, abstracts, and all other published text presented in English, the language must be clear and comprehensible to a global audience. This includes text present in the proceedings, proceedings website and conference website where available.

Timeliness and Publication Volume 

The volume of papers published is expected to make a valuable contribution to the literature and within ranges appropriate to the subject area and conference participation and objectives. Priority will be given to conferences held within the current and the previous year, but exceptions may be considered for completion of coverage.

Website Functionality/Format

For online publications, the information architecture and navigation system must ensure easy access to the content. Conference websites must ensure easy access to features defining the conference, such as program, organizing committee, submission guidelines, review process and policies.

Editorial Policies

A readily accessible description of the process of peer review and/or editorial oversight of all published content must be provided, as well as any requirements for editors, authors and conference organizers by the proceedings.

Aims and Scope

The conference must have a well-defined scope and statement of purpose, and a program showing focus and coherence.

Editor Affiliation Details

Proceedings Editors must be accurately identified. Names should be presented in the volume. Institutional affiliations – including country/region – should be presented in the volume or otherwise be readily available.

Author Affiliation Details

Authors of all proceedings papers must be accurately identified. Names and institutional affiliations – including country/region – of all authors are required.

Committee Affiliation Details

The committee members responsible for the conference must be accurately identified. Names and institutional affiliations – including country/region – of all members should be presented in the volume or otherwise be readily available.

Editorial Evaluation

In this step, the Web of Science editors are checking for alignment between the conference’s title, stated scope, the composition of its organizing committee and published proceedings and authorship. They are also looking for evidence of editorial rigor and adherence to community standards. If a proceedings volume does not pass this step, it is not eligible for re-submission.

Committee Composition

Committee affiliations, geographic diversity, and publication records must be consistent with the stated scope and proceedings of the conference. The size and composition of the committee must be consistent with the volume and breadth of proceedings papers.

Validity of Statements

It is not the intention of our review to ensure the applicability and enforcement of any standards or policies claimed by the conference or its proceedings. As required, however, we will undertake investigation of questionable content or false claims.

Peer Review

Published content must reflect adequate and effective peer review and/or editorial oversight. Signs of deficient peer review include, but are not limited to, papers outside the scope of the conference, making unsubstantiated claims or that do not make an original contribution to the literature.

Content Relevance

Published content must be consistent with the title and stated scope of the conference and show focus and coherence. Published papers are expected to have been presented at the meeting and open to discussion.

Sponsorship Details

The conference’s corporate and institutional sponsors should be clearly stated in either the individual volume and/or on the conference website.

Adherence to Community Standards

Conference/proceedings policies are consistent with recognized best practices within their communities. Proceedings papers are consistent with accepted best practices in their subject area (for example, accepted standards in organism or chemical nomenclature).

Author Distribution

The authors must have affiliations and geographic diversity that validate their participation in the scholarly community associated with the stated scope of the conference.

Appropriate Citations to the Literature

It is expected that content will appropriately acknowledge the surrounding literature for the topic.

How to submit

Publishers interested in submitting conference proceedings for evaluation should email us at editorial.relations@clarivate.com to receive information on how to submit.

Please note: only publishers can submit conference proceedings and enquire about evaluation status.