What are the differences between Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus?
Answer
1. Indexing
Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar have different criteria for which journals are included in their database. Web of Science and Scopus mostly include English journals of high quality.
2. Citation
Since the list of journals is different, the citation counts are different such as journal impact factors and author H-indexes. Google Scholar usually has higher numbers.
3. Peer Review
Most journals in Web of Science and Scopus are peer-reviewed and journal's quality is determined through various metrics. Google scholar indexing is more flexible. Search results can include predatory publishers and not be peer-reviewed.
4. Searching
When you search Google Scholar you are searching the whole text of the article. You also have fewer options for refining your search meaning you get less relevant results.
Web of Science and Scopus only search the title and abstract but there are most options to refine your search.
5. Metadata
Web of Science and Scopus both standardize data entry. Usually, all titles, dates, and citations are in the same format. Google Scholar relies on how different publishers have indexed the data.