science

Scirus

Scirus is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Scirus rather than just read about it. In short: Scirus was a comprehensive science-specific search engine, first launched in 2001. Like CiteSeerX and Google Scholar, it was focused on scientific information.

Key takeaways

Scirus belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Scirus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Scirus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Scirus was a comprehensive science-specific search engine, first launched in 2001. Like CiteSeerX and Google Scholar, it was focused on scientific information. Unlike CiteSeerX, Scirus was not only for computer sciences and IT and not all of the results included full text. It also sent its scientific search results to Scopus, an abstract and citation database covering scientific research output globally. Scirus was owned and operated by Elsevier. In 2013 an announcement appeared, on the Scirus homepage, announcing the site's retirement in 2014:

"We are sad to say goodbye. Scirus is set to retire in early 2014. An official retirement date will be posted here as soon as it is determined. To ensure a smooth transition, we are informing you now so that you have sufficient time to find an alternative search solution for science-specific content. Thank you for being a devoted user of Scirus. We have enjoyed serving you." By February 2014, the Scirus homepage indicated that the service was no longer running.

See also Academic databases and search engines Author-level metrics CiteSeerX Impact factor

References

External links Scirus homepage Deprecated link archived 2001-02-02 at archive.today Scirus, Péter's Digital Reference Shelf, Gale Reference Reviews

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Scirus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Scirus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Scirus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Scirus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Scirus

In research: Scirus appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Scirus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Scirus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bibliographic databases and indexes, Database stubs, Elsevier, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Scirus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Scirus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Scirus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Scirus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Scirus in simple terms?

Scirus was a comprehensive science-specific search engine, first launched in 2001. Like CiteSeerX and Google Scholar, it was focused on scientific information.

Why does Scirus matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Scirus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Scirus.