Top 25 FAQ

What is ScienceDirect Top 25?

ScienceDirect Top 25 is a freely available service which provides users with lists of the 25 most frequently downloaded articles for a three-month period based on a particular journal title (2,500+) and/or subject (24 core subject areas).

It is possible to link directly from these lists to the full-text article on ScienceDirect. If your institute does not subscribe to a particular title, however, it is possible to pay-per-view using your credit card.

We are pleased to offer this service for free helping users to keep track of the latest trends based on what your peers and colleagues are reading most frequently. It is possible to register on Top 25 to be alerted when new quarterly lists become available.

Please note: While the Top 25 service provides users with a general indication of readership of a particular article or journal, it is not intended to infer any sort of preferential ranking to the journals, articles or subjects included.

For more information, please visit our Info Site.

Is ScienceDirect Top 25 a retrieval or document delivery service?

Not necessarily. The ScienceDirect Top 25 is not intended to serve as a retrieval or document delivery service. If you are interested in keeping track of frequently read articles, you may wish to set up an alert to be notified on a quarterly basis as new lists become available for your journal or subject area of interest. In the meantime, however, you may find additional, relevant full-text articles by searching ScienceDirect directly and setting up an alert based on the search query you used to receive new content as it becomes available.

Data-related questions:

Q. What criteria are used to determine whether a publication is included in the Top 25?
A. To determine whether a publication or article is included in a Top 25 list, the usage must come from users at subscribing institutes and/or from developing countries where designated users have been granted free access to ScienceDirect. Usage from trial or test accounts as well as usage by editors or Elsevier employees is not counted towards the Top 25 service.

Q. What types of documents are included in the Top 25?
A. Review articles and full length articles are included in the ScienceDirect Top 25 lists. Document types such as editorials, letters and surveys are not included.

Q. Where can I find out how many times a particular paper was downloaded?
A. Although we receive many requests from users, especially authors, for usage data concerning their article(s) or articles of interest, it is unfortunately against ScienceDirect policy to make this data publicly available.

Q. Why can’t I find my article of choice in the subject area I would expect to find it in?
A. Articles are classified in a particular subject according to the journal in which they are published. It is possible for a particular journal to belong to more than one subject area on ScienceDirect.

Q. When can I expect new updated lists to become available?
A. The ScienceDirect Top 25 is updated on a quarterly basis. You can expect to receive updated lists approximately six weeks following the last month of each quarter, i.e. mid-May for January to March and mid-August for April, May, and June, etc.

Q. I’m an author of an article that has appeared in one of your Top 25 lists. Is it possible for me to receive documentation to this effect?
A. ScienceDirect partners with Elsevier’s WebShop to offer FREE digital personalized certificates to all ScienceDirect Top 25 ranked authors. You can order your certificate via the WebShop form.

Further information

If your query has not been successfully answered by these FAQs, please contact Top25team@elsevier.com