Comparing Citation Tracking Tools: Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science
Author Information
Author(s): Nisa Bakkalbasi, Kathleen Bauer, Janis Glover, Lei Wang
Primary Institution: Yale University Library
Hypothesis
The different scholarly publication coverage provided by the three search tools will lead to different citation counts from each.
Conclusion
No single citation tracking tool was found to be superior for all needs, as their effectiveness varies by subject and publication year.
Supporting Evidence
- Web of Science returned the highest average number of citations for oncology articles published in 1993.
- Scopus returned the highest average number of citations for oncology articles published in 2003.
- Google Scholar provided the largest amount of unique citing material for oncology articles published in 2003.
Takeaway
This study looked at how many times articles were cited using three different tools, and found that each tool has its strengths depending on the subject.
Methodology
Citation counts were extracted from three databases for articles from oncology and condensed matter physics published in 1993 and 2003.
Potential Biases
Potential bias from using JCR to select journal titles.
Limitations
The study's findings may not apply to all disciplines or publication years, and the citation counts were skewed.
Participant Demographics
Articles from oncology and condensed matter physics journals.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.00
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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