17 Powerful Google Scholar Alternative Tools

Do not index

Are you tired of sifting through endless search results on Google Scholar to find relevant academic articles for your research? Look no further! This blog on Google Scholar alternative introduces you to efficient literature review tools that can expand your research horizons. Say goodbye to endless scrolling and data overload, and check out these innovative, user-friendly platforms that can streamline your research process and ensure you find only the most relevant articles for your study. Let's dive in!

What Is Google Scholar?

Google Scholar is the clear number one when it comes to academic search engines. It's the power of Google searches applied to research papers and patents. It not only lets you find research papers for all academic disciplines for free but also often provides links to full-text PDF files.

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Is Google Scholar Free?

Yes, you can use Google Scholar for free. Google Scholar is a free full-text search engine focusing on scholarly content like journals, books, and dissertations. The resources found in Google Scholar may be paywalled, but the searching itself is free. If you're researching for academic purposes, Google Scholar can be a valuable tool. If you're looking to expand your research outside of Google Scholar, Unriddle may be a useful Google Scholar alternative.

Read faster & write better — try Unriddle for free today.

17 Powerful Google Scholar Alternative Tools

1. Unriddle.AI: Unriddle - Your AI-Powered Research Assistant

Unriddle is a cutting-edge platform that leverages AI to enhance your research process. The platform enables you to read faster and write better. By generating an AI assistant on top of any document, Unriddle helps you quickly find, summarize, and comprehend information.

With features like AI autocomplete to improve and expand your writing, Unriddle streamlines the research process. The collaborative workspace allows real-time contributions and chats with others working on the same document.

2. Core: Access the World's Largest Collection of Open Access Research Papers

Core is an open-access research platform that offers metadata and full-text access to a vast collection of research papers. Boasting a comprehensive dataset, Core supports innovative data-driven and AI solutions. The platform serves as a resourceful hub for researchers seeking open-access research papers.

3. BASE: Uncover Scholarly Articles with BASE

BASE, hosted at Bielefeld University in Germany, stands as a vital resource for scholars. The search engine covers around 136 million articles, including duplicates. While BASE provides abstracts and links to full text, it lacks related articles, references, and cited by information. The platform supports export formats such as RIS and BibTeX.

4. WorldCat: Connect with Global Libraries through WorldCat

WorldCat is an extensive online library catalog that amalgamates collections from thousands of libraries into one accessible platform. This vast resource enables users to search various libraries for research theses, books, magazines, songs, maps, genealogical records, movies, and more. WorldCat also features open-source e-books, articles, downloadable audiobooks, and photos.

5. Dimensions: Discover Cutting-Edge Research with Dimensions

Dimensions is a dynamic linked research data platform that revolutionizes research discovery and analysis. With an innovative approach, Dimensions provides users with effective access to research data.

6. Microsoft Academic: Enhance Your Search Experience with Microsoft Academic

Microsoft Academic stands out as a free search tool powered by semantic search tools. This technology enables users to achieve a more refined search experience compared to basic keyword searches.

7. Epistemonikos: Make Informed Decisions with Epistemonikos

Epistemonikos combines Evidence-Based Health Care with information technologies to offer a unique tool for decision-making related to health care. This platform is designed to assist individuals in making informed choices regarding clinical or health-policy questions.

8. Science.gov: Access Extensive Search Results with Science.gov

Science.gov simplifies the research process by bundling search results from over 15 U.S. federal agencies. This consolidated platform eliminates the need to query individual resources separately.

9. The Lens: Leverage The Lens for Public Good

The Lens serves as a public resource offering global patent and scholarly knowledge. By providing access to science and technology-related problem-solving, The Lens enriches the research experience.

10. ERIC: Refine Your Research with ERIC

ERIC offers various features to streamline research efforts, such as searching for academic work within specific time frames and filtering search results by descriptors. ERIC also allows users to search for peer-reviewed articles and full-text available on the platform.

11. Semantic Scholar: Discover Impactful Research with Semantic Scholar

Semantic Scholar focuses on delivering relevant and impactful search results. Through AI-powered algorithms, Semantic Scholar uncovers hidden connections and links between research topics, simplifying the search process.

12. RefSeek: Simplify Research with RefSeek

RefSeek is a comprehensive search engine that scans over one billion documents from academic and organizational websites. With a clean interface, RefSeek is user-friendly for students and researchers.

13. ScienceDirect: Access Peer-Reviewed Content with ScienceDirect

ScienceDirect, a platform by Elsevier, offers access to a vast collection of peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. Users can search for academic literature by keywords, author name, journal/book title, or use advanced search functionalities for specific documents.

14. Research Gate: Collaborate and Access Research with ResearchGate

ResearchGate serves as a search tool, networking platform, and social media site for the scientific community. With over 135 million pages of educational material accessible, researchers can collaborate with peers and industry professionals through this platform.

15. Academia: Explore Academic Research with Academia

Academia is a popular research platform where users can access and download academic and scholarly content. The platform offers premium subscriptions with various features, including advanced search options, grants, PDF packs, and more.

16. DOAJ: Access High-Quality Journals with DOAJ

DOAJ is a community-curated online directory that indexes high-quality, open-access, peer-reviewed journals. Users can access and index data freely through this platform.

17. Coursedog: Streamline Academic Advising with Coursedog

Coursedog offers fully-featured academic advising software designed for startups, SMEs, and enterprises. This online platform provides end-to-end solutions for academic scheduling, higher education, and curriculum management.

Complete Step-by-Step Guide On How To Use Unriddle's AI Research Tool

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use Unriddle. I’ve also copied it below :)

From here, it's pretty simple.

Unriddle helps you read, write and learn faster.

Interact with documents via AI so you can quickly find and understand info.

Then start writing in a new Note and Unriddle will show you relevant content from your library as you type.

Get started by uploading a document.

Or read on for the full rundown.

Interact with documents

When you upload a document, Unriddle generates an AI assistant on top of this data.

Click 'New' in the right sidebar and then select 'Upload' to get started.

Use this assistant to answer specific questions about the text, summarize content and simplify jargon.

The trick is to be super clear about what you want.

If you're summarizing a research paper, for example, instead of saying “Summarize” or “Summarize this research paper”, say something like “Explain this research paper to me in simple terms. What method did the researchers use? What did they find? Why does it matter?”.

The second prompt will produce a much better overview of the paper because we're giving the AI more hints about what we want.

Automatic relations

Unriddle grasps the context behind each Note and Document in your library and automatically links them based on meaning.

Let's say you have a collection of nuclear physics papers in your library.

When you start writing a note about The Manhattan Project, simply mentioning "The Manhattan Project" will prompt Unriddle to find the connection between this note and the nuclear physics papers.

Even if you didn't explicitly mention the research papers, Unriddle's knowledge of Oppenheimer, his work, and the significant relevance of these papers means it understands the connection and automatically links them together.

In short, Unriddle shows you relevant content from your library at the exact moment you need it, even if you haven't explicitly mentioned it.

Citing your sources

Writing is hard when you have a ton of sources to track.

So we made it easy.

Highlight some text, click ‘Cite’ and you’ll see items from your library that contain information related to the selection of text you just highlighted as determined by our AI.

When you select an item Unriddle inserts a link into highlighted text that, when clicked, takes you to the referenced item.

Writing with AI

Click ‘New’ in the sidebar and hit ‘Note’ to open up a new note.

Here you’ll find all the text formatting options you’re used to and more.

Type ‘++’ to generate text based on the context of what’s already written.

Highlight text and click ‘Ask AI’ to open up the AI menu where you’ll find options to improve, expand, summarize and explain.

You can type custom prompts too!

Finally, you can open any note in a pane on the right side of the screen while interacting with documents. Just click the orange pencil icon at the top of the chat window.

Chat Settings

Adjust the model, temperature and response length in the Setting sidebar.

Click the cog icon in the top right corner of the screen and look for "Chat Settings".

These apply across all documents but you can easily flip between them regardless of settings at the time of upload.

Model: the machine learning model used to generate responses.

Temperature: the amount of creative license you give to the AI.

Max length: the maximum number of words generated in a response.

Got feedback or questions? Send us an email and we'll get back to you within a day.

— Naveed

Pros and Cons Of Google Scholar

Pros of Google Scholar

Indexing a wide range of scholarly literature

Google Scholar is a valuable tool as it indexes a vast array of scholarly literature from various disciplines. This wide-ranging index offers users a diverse collection of resources to explore, increasing the chances of finding relevant material.

Searching is free

One of the primary benefits of Google Scholar is that it is a free search engine, allowing users to access scholarly literature without any cost. This feature is especially advantageous for students, researchers, and institutions with limited budgets.

Easy to use if you're familiar with Google

Google Scholar offers a user-friendly interface that is easily navigable, especially for individuals familiar with the Google search engine. This familiarity makes it easier for users to search for specific articles or materials effectively.

Google algorithm ranks relevance for you

Google Scholar's algorithm ranks search results based on their relevance to the user's query, making it easier to identify the most pertinent articles. This feature helps streamline the search process and improves the overall user experience.

Can set up library access links in settings

Users can configure Google Scholar to connect with their institutional library databases by setting up library access links. This feature enables seamless access to full-text articles that are available through the user's affiliated library.

Cons of Google Scholar

Can't search by subject area or material type

A notable limitation of Google Scholar is the inability to search by specific subject areas or material types. This lack of targeted search options can make it challenging for users to narrow down their search results to specific disciplines or content types.

No full-text access to most articles

While Google Scholar indexes a vast amount of scholarly literature, many of the search results do not provide full-text access. This limitation can hinder users' ability to access and read the complete articles without additional resources.

Very limited filters

Google Scholar's filtering options are comparatively limited, which can make it more challenging for users to refine their search results efficiently. The lack of comprehensive filters may result in users having to sift through numerous unrelated articles.

Content not organized by experts

Unlike curated databases and academic platforms, Google Scholar does not organize its content based on expert curation. This may result in users encountering a wide range of resources, including non-peer-reviewed materials or irrelevant content.

No easy way to identify 'peer-reviewed' sources

Identifying peer-reviewed sources on Google Scholar can be challenging, as the platform does not offer a simple way to filter or display only peer-reviewed articles. This limitation makes it more difficult for users to ensure the credibility and quality of the sources they access.

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Read Faster & Write Better With Unriddle for Free Today

Unriddle is a game-changer for me. It's like having a research assistant in my pocket. When I start working on a new research project, I fire up Unriddle and let it scan all my past work. It highlights the most relevant sources in my library using AI, so I can quickly dive back into what I’ve learned before. It saves me hours of searching through my old papers and books.

Enhancing Writing Efficiency with Unriddle's AI Autocomplete

When I’m writing, Unriddle generates text with AI autocomplete which helps me improve and expand my writing. It's like having a ghostwriter! The suggestions are all based on the context of my current project. I often get new insights and ideas from these AI-generated suggestions. Unriddle's collaborative workspace is a game-changer, too. Everyone can contribute and chat with the same documents in real-time. It's transformed the way I work with my colleagues.

Streamlining Information Retrieval with Unriddle's AI Assistant

But the real magic happens when I'm reading. Unriddle generates an AI assistant on top of any document, whether it's a research paper, a book, or a web page. It helps me quickly find, summarize, and understand information. No more endless skimming. Unriddle understands the meaning behind my writing and automatically links me to relevant things I’ve read and written about in the past. It's saved me countless hours of mindless scrolling and skimming.

Unriddle is a must-have for any researcher or student. It’s like having an AI-powered research assistant in your pocket. Give it a try!