This discussion is the hot topic nowadays between me and some colleagues. Is one of these databases better than the other? what are the criterion for this preference? are these two are the best? why?
From my perspective, web of science (WOS) is better than SCOPUS. WOS journals are more strict in the peer-to-peer review process because they seek to publish high standard research papers. Personally, I have found that all WOS journals in my research field are indexed by SCOPUS but NOT vice versa.
Web of Science is an online subscription-based scientific citation indexing service originally produced by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), now maintained by Clarivate Analytics. It includes 34,200 journals along with numerous books, proceedings, patents, and data sets. If you want to access Web of Science, you require subscription and IP authentication.
Scopus is an interdisciplinary bibliographic online database launched in 2004 containing abstracts and citation database as a competitor to Web of Science. Scopus is owned by Elsevier, an international publication group. Access to Scopus is through subscription only. It covers about 36,000 journal titles from more than 11,000 international publishers in scientific, medical, technical, and social science fields.
It is difficult to say which one is the best. You may consider the cost factor too!
From my perspective, web of science (WOS) is better than SCOPUS. WOS journals are more strict in the peer-to-peer review process because they seek to publish high standard research papers. Personally, I have found that all WOS journals in my research field are indexed by SCOPUS but NOT vice versa.
Both databases are used by subscription, and both have research functions, the difference between the two is that Clarivate Analytics is more selective, and more demanding from the material it index. The Scopus is more inclusive, and contain more types of material, and therefore, it is less selective. There are features offered by Scopus , but not by Calrivate, such as keywords, and features that offered by Clarivate but not by Scopus, such as funding bodies. For the purpose of promotion in the academia the Clarivate is generally used.
Web of Science is a platform consisting of several literature search databases designed to support scientific and scholarly research. The Web of Science provides a common search language, navigation environment, and data structure allowing researchers to search broadly across disparate resources and use the citation connections inherent to the index to navigate to relevant research results and measure impact. > 34,200 journals + books, proceedings, patents, and data sets. A platform providing access to multidisciplinary and regional citation indexes; specialist subject indexes; a patent family index; and an index to scientific data sets. There are databases with a subject focus like Medline, BIOSIS Citation Index, and Zoological Record; databases with a document type focus like Derwent Innovations Index (patents) and Data Citation Index (datasets and data studies); and databases highlighting content from regions around the world.
Scopus is the world’s largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature, including scientific journals, books and conference proceedings, covering research topics across all scientific and technical disciplines, ranging from medicine and social sciences to arts and humanities. Further, with smart tools to track, analyze and visualize research, Scopus empowers you to advance your science beyond the text. Since 2004, Scopus has delivered a comprehensive overview of the world's scientific research output across all disciplines. And it’s only getting better. Scopus features smart tools to track, analyze and visualize research - all so you can identify emerging trends, increase the visibility of your research, build a collaborative network, bolster funding applications and articulate the value of research to your organization.