Launched in 2014, Scilit is an indexing database developed and maintained by MDPI. Combining the words ‘scientific’ and ‘literature’ to form its name, Scilit is continuing to tap into the needs of research communities and publishers to improve user experience.

Excitingly, on June 1^st 2023, the website underwent a makeover.

With a brand new, comprehensive and user-tailored website now available, Scilit has become easier to navigate for researchers. It also includes features that are ideal for use by publishers and authors.

Let’s look at how Scilit has developed since 2014, and the features that can be leveraged by researchers, authors and publishers in particular.

How does Scilit work?

Indexing on Scilit works by extracting the latest data from CrossRef, PubMed, and other sources. Journal articles, book chapters, monographs, and preprints can all be searched for once indexed on the content-aggregating platform.

Because  the process of indexing papers in the database is automated, authors can find their work in the database shortly after publication. Its functions also include providing bibliographic data analyses to elucidate current academic trends.

Thus, by using databases like Scilit, researchers can easily access the latest research from across a number of journals and publishers for free with a sophisticated and simplified search process. Our article“Using New Search Technology on Scilit” elaborates on how Scilit works.

Open Access

One of the great features of Scilit is its ability to easily identify Open Access publications using OA aggregators. Of the 158 million publications currently searchable on the platform, 33 million are Open Access.

Publications are identified as Open Access by Scilit if they meet any of the following requirements:

“If the version of record (VoR) has been immediately released under an open access license as per CrossRef licensing data.

If the DOI landing page includes machine-readable metadata that indicate an open access license.”

Making OA materials easily identifiable can help readers and researchers to better navigate the database. The use of OA aggregators increases access to freely available research. As is the case with all MDPI initiatives, the promotion of Open Access is seamlessly integrated within the functions of Scilit.

Scilit features

On top of indexing research from a wide range of sources, including open access research, Scilit data have been used to develop a number of important features, elaborated on below.

Scilit Rankings

Scilit provides rankings of top publishers, journals and countries by different dimensions, like number of articles, OA articles and other citation-based indicators

Related articles Widget

The related articles widget helps searchers to access similar articles, which can help to find research most relevant to the field. Recommendations are made based on key word searches.

Scilit Webapp 2.0

There are a few important changes that have helped to improve user experience, and better facilitate the work of authors, researchers, and publishers. These features are helping to make Scilit more efficient, capable and user-friendly.

• Responsiveness across devices: The interface for the website has been optimized across devices, meaning that all the features of Scilit can be enjoyed on smartphones, tablets, and computers without interruption.
• Improved speed and performance: The new website’s frontend stack, powered by Vuejs3 and Nuxt3, partnered with the MDPI Design System, allows the database to work more efficiently.
• Advanced search capabilities and comprehensive indexing: Following the integration of Apache Solr, users can now “conduct complex searches, filter results based on specific criteria, and discover the most relevant scholarly content.” The comprehensive indexing of research makes searching the database effortless.

Information for Publishers

Scilit is committed to partnering with publishers to ensure that the latest research can be accessed by all with the most up-to-date information. As a publisher, you can register for an account to ensure that metadata for research is accurate and upload XML-tagged metadata or XML-tagged full texts for publications directly.

As with most academic indexing databases, one of the key requirements when uploading content to Scilit is ensuring that each article has a registered DOI number obtained through CrossRef, DataCite or mEDRA.

Benefits

Indexing research in databases can help to increase the visibility of research published in individual journals. Indexing databases, like Scilit, work by providing information about publishers where possible, and ensuring relevant research comes to the fore for researchers.

Here are just some of the benefits of setting up a Publisher Account with Scilit:

• Published data and research receive increased visibility and traffic.
• By uploading and verifying metadata, publishers can ensure information is up-to-date and accurate.

For ease, we’ve outlined exactly how to set up a Publisher Account on Scilit below.

Registration

A valid email is required to register with Scilit. Ideally, the registration email should have the same domain as the publisher website, and public email services should be avoided.

Once a password has been created for the account, publishers will need to enter the official publisher name which will be used further down the line when XML-tagged metadata are uploaded.

Finally, a link to the publisher website is required. When these steps are completed, an account-validation email will be sent to the email address used for registration. Once validated, all that’s required is a decision on verification by the scilit team, which will be sent through via email.

Uploading research

Scilit supports uploads in JATS / PubMed Central XML full-text,  CrossRef XML with abstract,    PubMed XML with abstracts, and  DOAJ XML with abstracts formats.

Once the publisher and publication information have been reviewed, the data will become available on Scilit. By following these steps, you can use Scilit in a way that works best for you.

Make Scilit work for you

Scilit is a comprehensive, up-to-date, and free database for anyone to use.

Due to its newest features and improved web design, searching is seamless for researchers and the general public. As a publisher, having work correctly indexed in the database can help to boost visibility, alongside the other benefits discussed in this article.

Visit Scilit today to set up your account and improve the visibility of your publications.