Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Google Scholar VS LENS

Compare Google Scholar VS LENS and see what are their differences

Google Scholar logo Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text of scholarly...

LENS logo LENS

An academic scholarly and patent free searcher
  • Google Scholar Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-07
  • LENS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-25

Google Scholar features and specs

  • Accessibility
    Google Scholar is freely accessible to anyone with an internet connection, removing barriers to accessing academic research.
  • Wide Range of Sources
    It indexes scholarly articles from a broad range of disciplines and sources, including academic publishers, universities, and other scholarly websites.
  • Citation Tracking
    Google Scholar provides citation information, allowing users to see how often a paper has been cited and to track the influence of research over time.
  • Ease of Use
    The interface is user-friendly and familiar to anyone who has used Google, making it easy to search for and find scholarly papers.
  • Advanced Search Options
    Google Scholar offers advanced search capabilities, including the ability to search by author, date range, and specific journals.

Possible disadvantages of Google Scholar

  • Quality Control
    The inclusion criteria for sources indexed are not transparent, leading to variability in the quality of the materials available.
  • Coverage
    Although extensive, Google Scholar's coverage is not comprehensive, and some important journals and articles might be missing.
  • Duplicate Entries
    There can be multiple entries for the same document, making it difficult to determine the most authoritative version.
  • Limited Full-Text Availability
    Many articles listed in Google Scholar are behind paywalls, meaning full access often requires a subscription or purchase.
  • Inconsistent Metadata
    The metadata (author names, publication dates, etc.) can sometimes be inaccurate or incomplete, affecting search results and citation tracking.

LENS features and specs

  • Extensive Database
    LENS offers access to a comprehensive collection of patent and scholarly works, enabling users to conduct thorough and wide-ranging research.
  • Free Access
    It provides free access to its vast repository, making it an attractive resource for researchers, students, and professionals without requiring subscription fees.
  • Advanced Search Capabilities
    LENS features advanced search filters and capabilities that allow users to efficiently narrow down results and find specific information relevant to their needs.
  • Integrated Tools
    The platform includes integrated tools for data analysis and visualization, assisting users in interpreting and understanding the data in meaningful ways.
  • Open and Transparent
    LENS promotes an open and transparent approach to data sharing, supporting the principles of open access and the democratization of knowledge.

Possible disadvantages of LENS

  • User Interface Complexity
    The variety of features and tools available on LENS can make the user interface seem complex, potentially overwhelming new users or those inexperienced with similar platforms.
  • Data Overload
    Given the extensive amount of data available, users may feel overloaded, requiring effective data management and filtering skills to navigate the information efficiently.
  • Limited Offline Access
    LENS primarily operates online, which can be a limitation for users needing access to resources while offline or in areas with unstable internet connections.
  • Potential Learning Curve
    New users might encounter a learning curve to effectively utilize all the tools and features provided by LENS, which might necessitate additional time and effort to master.

Analysis of Google Scholar

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Google Scholar is considered a good resource for academic research. It is user-friendly, provides comprehensive search results, and includes useful features such as citation analysis and linking to full-text articles when available. However, it may not have access to all subscription-only content available through university libraries or specialized databases.

Why this product is good

  • Google Scholar is a valuable tool because it provides free access to a vast range of scholarly articles, theses, books, conference papers, and patents across various disciplines. It indexes content from academic publishers, research institutions, and other scholarly websites, making it a convenient resource for researchers, students, and academics. Its citation tracking feature is particularly useful for understanding the impact and relevance of specific works.

Recommended for

  • Students looking for scholarly articles for their assignments.
  • Researchers who want to track citations and research trends.
  • Academics needing access to a wide range of publications.
  • Anyone interested in finding reliable, peer-reviewed sources for information.

Google Scholar videos

How to do a literature review using Google Scholar

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How To Use Google Scholar | Writing A Literature Review
  • Tutorial - How to use Google Scholar to find journal articles | Essay Tips

LENS videos

👀 Review Các Loại KÍNH ÁP TRÒNG (Contact Lens) Đã Dùng | Trang & Tiên

More videos:

  • Review - Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens review with samples
  • Review - One LENS To Rule Them All? TAMRON 18-400 REVIEW

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Google Scholar and LENS)
Digital Whiteboard
100 100%
0% 0
Image Optimisation
0 0%
100% 100
Research Tools
96 96%
4% 4
Kubernetes
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Google Scholar and LENS. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Google Scholar seems to be a lot more popular than LENS. While we know about 1002 links to Google Scholar, we've tracked only 2 mentions of LENS. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Google Scholar mentions (1002)

  • ChatGPT Search
    > Has google completely stopped working for anyone else? Yes. However, I found that https://scholar.google.com still works perfectly well. It feels just as the old Google without all the crap they've been adding in the last years. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Is Psychology Going to Cincinnati?
    He links to a meta analysis* that says CBT does cure depression well enough and does so consistently for many decades without any declines in effectiveness. Later for some reason, he says no single mental illness was ever cured. It seems the main point of the article is to say that nothing except "nudges" ever worked in psychology - this is nonsense that he himself contradicts as I mentioned above. Just use... - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Ask HN: Where do you subscribe to published journal topics?
    If you mean articles: No, it would be unfeasible. According to Science [https://www.science.org/content/article/scienceadviser-scientists-are-publishing-too-many-papers-and-s-bad-science] there are about 2.82 million articles coming out every year. That's 5.3 papers every minute, 24/7. If you mean a list of titles, your best bet would probably be something like https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ [PMC, life... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Show HN: Sort Google scholar by citations from your web browser
    A few may know, that google scholar(https://scholar.google.com/) does not offer a feature for arranging the search results based on the number of citations. Several years ago, one developer published a Python code (https://github.com/WittmannF/sort-google-scholar) to handle this. I had been inspired by his work, but I wanted to show the list of... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Why is Google search unusable lately?
    To that point, https://scholar.google.com/ is still useful. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
View more

LENS mentions (2)

  • Other patent web tech besides Google Patents?
    Examiner here, in biotech. Besides our internal equivalent of Patent Public Search, Google Patents is where I start. I also use lens.org and ip.com less frequently, and SciFinder when I need to search specific chemicals. STN is for searches prior to allowance when I want to confirm that there really, really isn't any art that teaches the thing I haven't found yet. Source: about 2 years ago
  • How do I find an ASCII uploaded sequence file?
    If the patent has been published, it's under "Supplemental Content" in Patent Center. You could also look up the patent on lens.org. Source: over 2 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Google Scholar and LENS, you can also consider the following products

PubMed.gov - PubMed comprises more than 29 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

K8Studio.io - K8sStudio: Manage Kubernetes clusters with ease. Features a visual editor, cluster map, and seamless integration with AWS, GKE, and AKS.

SCI-HUB - It provides mass and public access to tens of millions of research papers

Resizing.app - Image resizing has never been so simple with free online resizing.app. Convert, optimize, resize images with ease and for absolutely free.

ResearchGate - Access scientific knowledge, and make your research visible

Bulk Resize Photos - Resize large photos in bulk