Document types in Scopus
Scopus classifies materials not only as articles but into different document types: article, review, conference paper, editorial, letter, note, and others. The document type affects how a publication appears and is interpreted in the database.
In detail
In Scopus, each record belongs to a specific document type. This helps the system catalogue materials correctly, build analytics, and calculate indicators.
Among the most common document types in Scopus
- Article
- Article-in-Press
- Review
- Conference Paper
- Editorial
- Letter
- Note
- Short Survey
- Erratum
- Retracted Article
- Book
- Book Chapter
- Data Paper
Why this matters
- not all document types are viewed the same way in scholarly practice;
- when analyzing an author or journal profile, the publication type matters;
- an article and an editorial are not the same thing even if both have DOI and indexing.
For example
- article and review are more often treated as full scholarly publications;
- editorial is an editorial text;
- erratum is a correction;
- conference paper is conference material;
- article-in-press is a paper at the early online publication stage.
Sometimes a publisher labels a material one way, while Scopus classifies it somewhat differently. Therefore, when evaluating a publication, it is useful to look not only at whether the record exists but also at its type.
What is important to remember
If a publication is visible in Scopus, it is important to look not only at the fact of indexing but also at the document type under which it is counted.