SOAP and the Web of Science: how to bulk download query results

Abstract

Recently, we had a faculty member ask to download thousands of citation records from Web of Science (WOS). With modern tasks such as data mining for research, this bulk “nonconsumptive” use of textual data is increasing. Because of the size of the download, she needed the library’s help. Described below are the steps and tools needed so you can repeat the process with your own search terms. This process is also applicable to other Web services that use the simple object access protocol (SOAP).