The Social Science Citation Index is a multidisciplinary index to journals, published proceedings, and monographic series in the social, behavioral, and related sciences.

The SSCI is divided into three indexes:

                                                        1. Permuterm Subject Index
                                                        2. Source Index
                                                        3. Citation Index

Step 1: Using the Permuterm Subject Index look up your term alphabetically. This index takes primary terms from the titles of journal articles, proceedings, or chapters and review in books. Indented under the primary terms are sub-terms or other keywords used in the same titles which can help narrow or refine your search. To the right of the narrower term is the author’s name (there may be more than one publication) For example:

                       Multicultural
                                     Training -- Ford BA
                                                  -- Rogers MR

Step 2: Look up the author’s name (either Ford BA or Rogers MR) in the Source Index of the same year. Under the author’s name is a citation for the book, article, proceedings etc. which includes co-authors, journal title, volume, page numbers, year of publication, and the number of references. Beneath the entry is a listing of all the sources the author cited and sufficient information for locating those references. If the journal abbreviations are not obvious, check the 'List Source Publications' at the front of the Source Index volume.

To use the SSCI to update research on a topic covered by a ‘classic’ or older scholarly article or book, here are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Your original Article

Begin with the author (Schwartz, S. H.) of the article whose research you want to update. Note the year (1976) this article was published.

Starting with the SSCI volume for the year when your article was published or any year after, look for the author’s name and, under that, a listing for the specific article that interests you. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t find an entry. Not all articles are cited by someone else every year. You will need to continue to check the SSCI for subsequent years until you have found enough references. For example, if your original article was published in 1976, you could check the SSCI for 1977, 1978, and up through the current year.

If you find a listing for your article, you also will find the names of authors who have 'cited' your article. These more recent articles will make use of the original research in some way--update it, support it, refute it, etc. If you understand the abbreviated publication title, you can go right to the article. If you don’t understand the abbreviation, look up the author’s name (the one who is citing the earlier article) in the Source Index volume for more information.

Entry from the 1995 Citation Index volume:

                                      SCHWARTZ RM
                                         74 J EXP PSYCHOL      102     517
                                            ASUNCION AG        J EXP S PSY         31   437   95
                                         75 PROGR BEHAVIOR THERA
                                                      FOKIAS D               CLIN PSYCH        15   437   95
                                         76 J CONSULT CLIN PSYCH       44    910
                                                      MALLE BF               J PER SOC            68   470   95
                                                      MARX EM               EUR R AP PS        44   271   95
                                                 85 READ TEACH       39     198
                                                       PALINCSA.AS       SCH PSYCH R     24    331   95
                                          86 ADV COGNITIVE BEHAVI      5      1
                                                       BRUCH MA            COGN THER R    19      91    95
                                                             "                          J PERSONAL      63      47    95
                                                       HOPE DA                BEHAV RES T     33    637    95
                                                  89 FAM PLANN PERSPECT      21      170
                                                       CURRIE J                AM ECON REV   85    106   95
                                                       LEWIT EM              FUT CHILD            5      35   95
                                                       MEHLMANN MJ   AM J HU GEN      55  1054   94
                                           92 MANAGEING MULTICULTUR
                                                        TAIBI AD               DUKE LAW J      44     928  95   R
 

NOTE: The print version of the Social Science Citation Index is located in the Reference Collection in Haggard, 2nd Floor East (Reference AI 3 .S614 ).   Ask for assistance at the Reference Desk, Haggard 2.

The online version of Social Sciences Citation Index (1990 to date) is available on the Web of Science

Created and Maintained by Julene Sodt Last Update: 7/2008