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