Indexing services provide solutions for aggregating research outputs into local or global digital services, thereby enabling those outputs to reach a wider audience through extended distribution. Indexing services are also used as a framework for librarians and researchers evaluating publishing outlets, as many platforms use strict criteria for inclusion. Indexes often apply their own criteria—varying in range, number, and effectiveness—which could, therefore, serve as a foundation for how we create and distribute scholarly output. The indexing of a source in a database is not, however, a mark of the quality of the content published, or of an endorsement of the content’s source.
Other services, such as ROAD, or OpenAlex, aggregate open access scholarly works, but without applying a quality check or review before adding content.
Journal indexing services
Trustworthy indexing services may vary by subject area, publishing language, and region.
Examples of common databases or indexing services that apply some sort of quality check or review before adding content are AJOL, DOAJ, Google Scholar, LatIndex, PubMed Medline, PubMed Central, Redalyc-AmeliCA, Scielo, SCOPUS, UGC, and Web of Science.
Check with a librarian if you need further or more specific advice.
Book indexing services
Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) is a platform for the dissemination of metadata about academic books. To be accepted for listing, the publisher needs to describe the peer-review and editorial selection processes. Another purpose of the platform is to facilitate the aggregation of book information by standardising book metadata and enabling libraries to harvest information for their local catalogues. The OAPEN Library manages DOAB in Collaboration with OpenEdition.
OAPEN Library is set up to host and disseminate OA books. OAPEN works with publishers to build a quality-controlled collection of open-access books and provides services to publishers, libraries, and research funders in dissemination, quality assurance, and digital preservation. To join this database, publishers of books need to provide information about which open access license they use and what type of peer review they perform.
Another resource for discovering available books and their metadata records is the Thoth catalogue.