Google Scholar vs Scopus

Struggling to choose between Google Scholar and Scopus? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Google Scholar is a Education & Reference solution with tags like academic, research, literature-search, citation-management.

It boasts features such as Search engine for academic literature, Indexes articles, theses, books, abstracts, court opinions, Covers many disciplines and sources, Shows citations and versions of each paper, Related articles and cited by features, Author profile pages, Saves searches and sends alerts, Metrics like h-index and i10-index, Integrates with Google for full text access and pros including Free to use, Comprehensive coverage, Good for interdisciplinary research, Shows impact with citation metrics, Easy to use and integrate with Google, Helps find related research.

On the other hand, Scopus is a Education & Reference product tagged with research, abstracts, citations, journals, metrics.

Its standout features include Largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature, Covers scientific journals, books, and conference proceedings, Includes over 75 million records, Covers fields like science, technology, medicine, social sciences, arts, and humanities, Allows users to track citations over time for research topics and publications, Provides citation analysis tools to determine journal impact factor, and it shines with pros like Comprehensive coverage of peer-reviewed publications, Powerful search and discovery tools, Citations analysis and metrics, Integrates seamlessly with reference management tools, Useful for interdisciplinary research.

Feature	Google Scholar	Scopus
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Education & Reference	Education & Reference

Product Overview

Google Scholar

Description: Google Scholar is a free online academic database that indexes scholarly literature across disciplines and sources. It allows users to search for peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts, and court opinions.

Scopus

Description: Scopus is a large abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. It covers scientific journals, books, and conference proceedings in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, arts, and humanities.

Key Features Comparison

Google Scholar Features

• Search engine for academic literature
• Indexes articles, theses, books, abstracts, court opinions
• Covers many disciplines and sources
• Shows citations and versions of each paper
• Related articles and cited by features
• Author profile pages
• Saves searches and sends alerts
• Metrics like h-index and i10-index
• Integrates with Google for full text access

Scopus Features

• Largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature
• Covers scientific journals, books, and conference proceedings
• Includes over 75 million records
• Covers fields like science, technology, medicine, social sciences, arts, and humanities
• Allows users to track citations over time for research topics and publications
• Provides citation analysis tools to determine journal impact factor

Pros & Cons Analysis

Google Scholar

Pros

• Free to use
• Comprehensive coverage
• Good for interdisciplinary research
• Shows impact with citation metrics
• Easy to use and integrate with Google
• Helps find related research

Cons

• Not all sources are indexed
• Does not include unpublished papers
• Ranking algorithm lacks transparency
• Too much irrelevant content in results
• Limited advanced search options
• No full text access

Scopus

Pros

• Comprehensive coverage of peer-reviewed publications
• Powerful search and discovery tools
• Citations analysis and metrics
• Integrates seamlessly with reference management tools
• Useful for interdisciplinary research

Cons

• Limited full-text access
• Not all journals are indexed
• Difficult to search comprehensively across broad topics
• Analytics tools could be more intuitive
• Expensive subscription fees

Pricing Comparison

Google Scholar

• Free

Scopus

• Subscription-Based