Worth watching! How to distinguish SCI, SSCI, EI, and CPCI.

   In the process of submitting articles to academic journals, authors often come into contact with terms such as SCI, SSCI, EI, CPCI, etc. So, what does each of these abbreviations represent? What are the connections and differences between them? This article will delve into these questions and reveal the answers one by one for you.

1、 SCI (Science Citation Index)

SCI is the English abbreviation for Science Citation Index in the United States. Its full name is Science Citation Index, founded in 1961. It was created based on the citation idea proposed by modern information scientist Engene Garfield in 1953. SCI is an international index that includes natural sciences, biology, medicine, agriculture, technology, and behavioral sciences, with a focus on basic sciences.

SCI collects approximately 3500 core journals from various disciplines of natural sciences such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, agriculture, forestry, medicine, life sciences, astronomy, geography, environment, materials science, and engineering technology published worldwide. It is equivalent to a library of human civilization and has significant historical significance and scientific research value. If a paper or journal can be included in SCI, we say it is an SCI paper or journal. Meanwhile, the scope of SCI inclusion is not fixed and will be adjusted annually.

2、 SSCI (Social Science Citation Index)

  SSCI is the English abbreviation for the Social Science Citation Index in the United States. Its full name is: Social Science Citation Index. Like SCI, it was created by the American Institute of Scientific Information and now includes social science journals and papers from different countries and regions around the world. It conducts certain statistical analysis and divides them into different factor intervals. It is an important journal retrieval and paper reference channel in the field of social sciences today. In 1999, SSCI included 1809 of the world's most important social science journals, covering 55 fields including anthropology, law, economics, history, geography, psychology, and more. The types of literature included include research papers, book reviews, thematic discussions, editorials, autobiographies, letters, etc.

  Unlike SCI, SCI is a natural science citation index that focuses on the field of natural sciences; SSCI is a social science citation index that focuses on the field of social sciences. Of course, due to the integration of disciplines, there is an overlap in the scope of inclusion between SSCI and SCI. It is possible for a journal or paper to be included in both SCI and SSCI.

3、 EI (Engineering Index)

  EI is the English abbreviation for Engineering Index, and its full name is Engineering Index. EI is the oldest comprehensive search tool in history, founded by the American Federation of Engineering Societies in 1884. EI enjoys a high reputation in the academic, engineering, and information industries worldwide and is an important retrieval tool recognized by the technology community. Later, EI was acquired by Elsevier.

  EI mainly collects important literature in the field of engineering technology, and its biggest advantage is that it is recognized by every country and is a global core. In addition, EI includes two types of inclusion, JA and CA. JA (Journal Article) is a journal article published in an officially published academic journal that is indexed by EI. CA (Conference Article), conference papers, EI conferences, papers published in EI indexed conferences or included in conference proceedings.

4、 CPCI (Conference Proceedings Citation Index)

  CPCI is the abbreviation for Conference Proceedings Citation Index (formerly known as ISTP Search, Index of Science and Technology Conference Proceedings). ISTP, short for Index to Scientific&Technical Proceedings, was founded in 1978 and edited and published by the Institute for Scientific Information in the United States. Starting from October 20, 2008, the Institute for Scientific Information in the United States renamed ISTP as CPCI based on the Web of Science retrieval platform. This index includes conference literature from disciplines such as life sciences, physical and chemical sciences, agriculture, biology and environmental sciences, engineering technology, and applied sciences, including general conferences, symposiums, research meetings, seminars, and publications.

  CPCI retrieval is a comprehensive scientific and technological conference literature retrieval publication, which includes natural sciences, technical sciences, history and philosophy, covering a wide range of disciplines. It has a complete collection of conference literature, multiple retrieval channels, and fast publication speed. It has become the main and authoritative tool for retrieving officially published conference literature worldwide.

The following is a detailed analysis of SCI, SSCI, EI, and CPCI, aimed at providing strong support and guidance for numerous authors in academic submissions and research.

      在作者们向学术期刊投稿的过程中，常常会接触到SCI、SSCI、EI、CPCI等术语。那么，这些缩写各自代表着什么意义呢？它们之间又存在着怎样的联系与差异？本文将深入解析这些问题，为您一一揭晓答案。

一、SCI（Science Citation Index，科学引文索引）    

        SCI是美国《科学引文索引》的英文简称，其全称为：Science Citation Index，创刊于1961年，它是根据现代情报学家加菲尔德(Engene Garfield) 1953年提出的引文思想而创立的。SCI是一部国际性索引，包括有：自然科学、生物、医学、农业、技术和行为科学等，主要侧重基础科学。

      SCI收录全世界出版的数、理、化、农、林、医、生命科学、天文、地理、环境、材料、工程技术等自然科学各学科的核心期刊约3500种，相当于是人类文明的图书馆，具有非常重要的历史意义和科研价值。如果一篇论文、一本期刊，如果能被SCI收录，我们就说这是SCI论文、SCI期刊。同时，SCI收录的范围不是固定不变的，每年都会调整。

二、SSCI（Social Science Citation Index，社会科学引文索引）

      SSCI是美国《社会科学引文索引》的英文简称，其全称为：Social Science Citation Index，与“SCI”一样同为美国科学信息研究所创建，现收录了世界上、不同国家和地区的社会科学期刊和论文，进行一定的统计分析，并划分为不同的因子区间，是当今社会科学领域重要的期刊检索与论文参考渠道。1999年SSCI全文收录1809种世界最重要的社会科学期刊，内容覆盖包括人类学、法律、经济、历史、地理、心理学等55个领域。收录文献类型包括：研究论文，书评，专题讨论，社论，人物自传，书信等。

      与SCI不同的是，SCI是自然科学引文索引，聚焦自然科学领域；而SSCI是社会科学引文索引，侧重于社会科学领域。当然，由于学科整合的问题，SSCI与SCI收录的范围存在交叉。有可能一本期刊或者论文，既被SCI收录，又被SSCI收录。

三、EI（Engineering Index，工程索引）

EI是《工程索引》的英文简称，其全称为：Engineering Index，EI是由美国工程师学会联合会于1884年创办的历史上最悠久的一部大型综合性检索工具。EI在全球的学术界、工程界、信息界中享有盛誉，是科技界共同认可的重要检索工具。后来EI被爱思唯尔(Elsevier)收购。

EI主要收录工程技术领域的重要文献，其最大的优点是：被每个国家都认可，是全球核心。此外，EI收录分两种收录类型，JA和CA。JA（Journal Article），期刊论文，EI源刊，发表在被EI收录的正式出版的学术期刊上的论文。CA（Conference Article），会议论文，EI会议，在EI收录的会议上发表或者是被会议论文集收录的论文。

四、CPCI（Conference Proceedings Citation Index，科技会议录索引）

       CPCI是Conference Proceedings Citation Index的简称（原名也叫ISTP检索，科技会议录索引）。ISTP即Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings（科技会议录索引）的简称，创刊于1978年，由美国科学情报研究所编辑出版。自2008年10月20日起，美国科学情报研究所基于Web of Science的检索平台，将ISTP更名为CPCI。该索引收录生命科学、物理与化学科学、农业、生物和环境科学、工程技术和应用科学等学科的会议文献，包括一般性会议、座谈会、研究会、讨论会、发表会等。

       CPCI检索是一种综合性的科技会议文献检索刊物，该检索工具收录包括自然科学、技术科学以及历史与哲学等，覆盖的学科范围广，收录会议文献齐全，而且检索途径多，出版速度快，已成为了检索全世界正式出版的会议文献的主要的和权威的工具。

以下是关于SCI、SSCI、EI及CPCI的详尽解析，旨在为众多作者在学术投稿与研究中提供有力支持与指导。