Web of Science has rapidly expanded its coverage of the scientific literature in the past decades. We analyze the selection criteria applied in its databases, especially the Social Science Citation Index, and discuss how changes in the coverage of the scientific literature inform us about changes in the kinds of research that are being valued and prioritized. Scientometric data are presented for the period 1997–2023. These data show that ‘applied’ subject categories, such as nursing and education, educational research, have become more visible in the scientific databases, while the classic or ‘pure’ disciplines, such as anthropology and sociology, have become less visible. We argue that these changes indicate that science itself is increasingly defined in terms of its impact on the external world. Changing ideas about what constitutes good science and about the place of the social sciences in society are enhancing the status of applied disciplines and lead to their stronger presence in scientific databases.
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