Comparison of Citation Tracking in Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science

A Case Study of Panjab University, Chandigarh

Abstract

The study is a comparative analysis of citation data from three databases-Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar-pertaining to 597 publications authored by academics from six selected teaching departments within the Faculty of Science at Panjab University, Chandigarh. The objective was to identify the most comprehensive individual or combination of databases for citation-based studies. The methodology included extraction of citation data for 597 publications from the three databases, limited to citing publications published up to 2022. These were analysed for overlap, exclusivity, and the proportion of total citations covered by each database, both individually and in cross-database comparisons. Additionally, by merging citation sets from individual databases, the study also explored the potential benefits of using multiple databases in combination. The findings indicate that Google Scholar is the most comprehensive database, followed by Scopus and Web of Science. Furthermore, the study found that combining all three databases yields the most extensive citation coverage and provides a broader picture of a publication’s impact and reach in the academic community.