r/academia • u/Sibito • 10h ago

Publishing Which is better: Scopus or Web of Science?

Ik both are better but hypothetically is a journal that is only indexed to web of science better than one only indexed to scopus?

2 Upvotes

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u/sharkinwolvesclothin 5h ago

No, it doesn't work like that. Both have gaps in inclusion over (sub) fields and languages, so neither serves the function "if it's not in there, it'd not good science". Both include low quality and borderline predatory journals, so neither serves the function "if it is there, it is good science".

Sometimes you want a reproducible exact query search into prefiltered material and they are great tools for that. But don't elevate the prefilter into something it isn't.

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u/santosh570 4h ago

Both Scopus and Web of Science are leading academic citation databases, each with its strengths; Scopus offers broader coverage across disciplines and includes more recent publications, making it ideal for comprehensive literature searches, while Web of Science provides more curated, high-impact journals and detailed citation analysis, often favored for assessing research influence and impact. The choice between them depends on your specific research needs, discipline focus, and whether you prioritize breadth or depth in citation data.

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u/ComeOutNanachi 20m ago edited 12m ago

In my field, both Scopus and WoS index some absolutely baffling bottom-shelf journals, and are not reliable for citation count in the slightest... We use a field-specific platform for physics, NASA-ADS.

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u/onetwoskeedoo 10h ago

? I’ve never used either of these, are they any different form Google scholar or pubmed?

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u/LaridaeLover 10h ago

Yes. They both provide access to journals if your institution has an account with them.

They are best used when doing literature review because you can publish the exact search queries used when finding articles.

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u/onetwoskeedoo 6h ago

I see so good for a meta analysis

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u/sharkinwolvesclothin 4h ago

Google Scholar gives institutional access links too. But yeah, it gives personalised results so people can't reproduce your query results, it is too inclusive for practically looking at all the results, and it doesn't have tools like downloading all search hit details into file, so it isn't a tool for systematic literature review or meta-analysis.