A Comparison of OpenAlex With Scopus and Web of Science for Tracking Scholarly Nursing Literature

Abstract

Background: Researchers have traditionally used commercial databases such as Scopus and Web of Science to track scholarly literature and ascertain the impact of publications in terms of citations. In recent years, new open data sources, such as OpenAlex, have appeared, which broaden the array of tools accessible for exploring academic literature. Objective: This study compares the coverage of scholarly nursing literature by OpenAlex, Scopus, and Web of Science in terms of journals, articles, and citations indexed. Methods: A list of nursing journals indexed by OpenAlex, Scopus, and Web of Science was compiled to compare the titles covered in terms of country of publication, publisher, and open access availability. Citations of nursing articles published between 2000 and 2022 in the three sources were also analyzed. Results: OpenAlex indexes nearly all the journals covered by Scopus and Web of Science, plus additional sources from countries outside the Western world. In terms of individual articles, OpenAlex indexes more citations than Scopus and Web of Science. Conclusion: OpenAlex is a comprehensive source for tracking nursing literature. Currently, its main limitation lies in the lack of a user-friendly web interface, as the need to use an API for data retrieval can complicate the search process for end users.