STM publisher Elsevier, Netherlands, has announced the launch of SciTopics, a free online expert-generated knowledge sharing service for the research community. Designed as a starting point for scientific research, the website integrates a content publishing platform with search functionalities and community features. The service includes a continually growing number of pages with over 650 SciTopics pages from more than 800 scientists.
The site creates a starting point for researchers to gain an introductory overview of a particular scientific topic. It serves as a collaboration resource where users can share their views and engage in discussions with other SciTopics members. SciTopics allows scientists to easily identify relevant players, journals, websites and science news services in the field. Thereby offering a channel for researchers to identify potential collaboration partners and help journal editors find suitable authors and reviewers for their publications.
Using keywords selected by the SciTopics page author, Elsevier provides links to the most recent and most cited published articles on the subject through Scopus, the world's largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. Keywords are also used to identify links to relevant Web results and news through Scirus, Elsevier's science-specific search engine. These external links, updated each time the page is viewed, allow for more in-depth coverage of the subject reflecting the most current information. SciTopics page authors also offer a list of references and suggested Web resources.
SciTopics pages include a link to the author's profile page including affiliation, research interests, a list of publications and contact details. Authors are invited by a SciTopics Subject Editor or Elsevier Journal Editor to write a summary on a scientific topic of their choice. Additionally, those interested in creating a SciTopics page may submit a suggested topic via the site.
