1. What is Current Web Contents?

Current Web Contents, available in ISI Web of Knowledge^SM and Current Contents Connect® (CC Connect®), is a module that provides links to selected and evaluated Web sites. Searchers will be able to review a short description of each scholarly, research-oriented Web site prior to linking to that site. Current Web Contents ensures authenticity, quality, and timeliness of Web-based data.

2. What type of Web sites are the Thomson Scientific Web Content Editors collecting?

The Web Content Editors use a process of manual searches and automated Web agents to retrieve potential sites. The Web Content Editors then review sites that have content relevant to the scholarly community. These scholarly sites can range from virtual libraries, associations or research organization home pages, to specific topical data and governmental publications.

3. What is the Thomson Scientific editorial review process?

Thomson Scientific has selected and indexed the core literature published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, books, and proceedings. Built upon a well-established selection process, the multidisciplinary Thomson Scientific content has become a source for the most important published research. Editors selecting publications for Thomson Scientific content rely on various indicators, including citation analysis and confirmation of the application of peer review. With these tools, Thomson Scientific can assess the scholarly merit of the journals being evaluated for coverage in its content.

Evaluating and selecting scholarly, research-oriented Web sites for inclusion in Thomson Scientific products, however, required the development of different evaluative tools. In the absence of peer review, citation data, and established journal publishing standards, measuring the potential value of a Web site for the Thomson Scientific customer necessitates the application of criteria specialized to this medium. To read more about the editorial standard, see: Current Web Contents: Web Site Selection Criteria.

The evaluative criteria for Web sites include review of the following factors:

Authority	Accuracy
Currency	Navigation & Design
Applicability & Content	Scope
Audience Level	Quality of Writing

4. How often will these sites be reviewed?

During the process of evaluating a site, content stability is reviewed closely. This ensures that the record created by the Thomson Scientific Web Content Editors accurately describes that site over an extended period of time. The Editors revisit each selected Web site at least once a year; an automated URL checker runs against the Current Web Contents collection nightly.

5. Does Current Web Contents conform to the Dublin Core Standards?

Yes, Thomson Scientific has made every attempt to conform to the developing standards on the Internet. The Dublin Core Metadata Element Set was reviewed and incorporated into the capture protocols for Current Web Contents. The World Wide Web consortium's (W3C) Resource Description Framework (RDF) Schema Specifications for Dublin Core was also reviewed and used as a guide for development.

In fact, Thomson Scientific has gone beyond the 15 DC elements and extended the metadata capture to both information and review elements associated with a Web site.

6. What data elements is Thomson Scientific capturing for Current Web Contents?

The data capture process is divided into two layers. The first is an informational layer that focuses on the elements from Dublin Core and Thomson Scientific cataloging and indexing requirements. This layer forms the basis of the standardized record that is included in the database. View a sample standardized record. The second is an evaluative layer that contains qualitative and quantitative elements that provide the evidence for a site being authoritative, current, relevant to subject matter, easily navigable, and reviewed.

7. Does Thomson Scientific expect to use persistent URL (PURLS) when publishing Current Web Contents?

Thomson Scientific does manage persistency through a proprietary key for the indexed information on a particular site. Thus as the URL changes for a site, this change will be updated in the indexed record. Thomson Scientific has every intention to provide consistent and reliable linking to the most current sites and minimize the occurrence of dead links.

The adoption of a PURL methodology for link resolution will be dependent on customer requirements and implementations of Thomson Scientific data.