MEDLINE via Web of Science vs. PubMed

What is the difference between Medline via Web of Science and PubMed


Answer

MEDLINE via Web of Science vs. PubMed

A Comparison Guide for Weizmann Institute Library Users

Understand the strengths of each platform and when to use them for biomedical research, citation analysis, and more.

What is MEDLINE?

MEDLINE is the National Library of Medicine’s primary database for scholarly articles in medicine and life sciences. It can be accessed via:
- PubMed – Free and publicly available
- Web of Science MEDLINE – Subscription access via Weizmann Institute

PubMed vs. Web of Science MEDLINE: Feature Comparison

Feature

PubMed

Web of Science MEDLINE (Weizmann Access)

Access

✅ Free

✅ Institutional login

MeSH Support

✅ Full hierarchy & explosion

⚠️ Limited MeSH functionality

Citation Counts

❌ No

✅ “Times Cited” available

Linked References

❌ No

✅ Yes

Journal Impact Factors

❌ No

✅ Integrated with JCR

Author Disambiguation

⚠️ Basic

✅ ORCID / ResearcherID

NCBI Tools (GenBank, etc.)

✅ Yes

❌ No

Search Focus

Clinical, biomedical

Research impact & analytics

Export Options

✅ Basic (RIS/CSV)

✅ Advanced (EndNote, BibTeX)

When Should You Use Each Platform?

Use Web of Science MEDLINE when you need to:

  • - Track citation counts and research impact
    - Explore citation networks and related research
    - Analyze researcher productivity with ORCID/ResearcherID
    - Export records to EndNote or InCites
    - Search across multiple databases (WoS Core Collection, BIOSIS)

Access Web of Science MEDLINE: https://www.webofscience.com

Use PubMed when you want to:

  • - Search precisely using MeSH terms and filters
    - Perform systematic or clinical queries
    - Access NCBI-linked biomedical data (GenBank, ClinicalTrials.gov)
    - Use a fast, free interface on any device

Access PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Recommended Use by Role

User Type

Best Platform

Why

Scientists & PIs

Web of Science

Citation tracking, grant reporting

Clinicians

PubMed

Clinical filters, MeSH terms

Graduate Students

Both

MeSH precision + citation exploration

Library Staff

Both

Support all user needs

Systematic Reviewers

Both

MeSH searching + citation chaining

More Help & Resources

- PubMed Help & Tutorials: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/help/
- Clarivate MEDLINE LibGuide: https://clarivate.libguides.com/medline
- Journal Citation Reports (JCR): https://jcr.clarivate.com/
- Contact Vered Yanai: vered.yanai@weizmann.ac.il

  • Last Updated 08-Jun-2025
  • Views 6
  • Answered By Vered Yanai

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