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What is Source ID in Scopus

Overview

Source ID is an internal identifier of a journal or another source in the Scopus system. It helps accurately distinguish sources and connect data without confusion in titles.

Main content

In detail

Scopus uses different kinds of identifiers: Author ID for an author; Source ID for a journal, series, or another source; and document identifiers for a specific publication.

Source ID is needed for accurate technical identification of a source within the database. This is especially useful when journals have similar names, when a journal title has changed, when data must be matched across systems, or when a journal is used in a catalog, CRM, database, or analytics.

For an ordinary author, Source ID is rarely an everyday tool, but for a journal-focused website it is a very useful field. It helps link a journal card to a specific record in Scopus and reduces the risk of mistakes.

It is important not to confuse Source ID with other identifiers

  • ISSN is the international serial number of a continuing publication;
  • DOI is an identifier of an article or another object;
  • Source ID is the internal key of the source in Scopus.

What is important to remember

Source ID is the identifier of the journal itself in Scopus, not of the article and not of the author.

Official and useful sources
Source

Elsevier. Scopus APIs Getting Started Guide.

Open source
Source

Scopus Interactive Tutorials. Using Scopus Sources.

Open source