When is it best to use PsycINFO versus Google Scholar? PsycINFO is a abstracting service provided by the APA dedicated to research in the behavioural sciences to which many universities subscribe. Google Scholar provides a free abstracting service that covers seemingly all areas of research.


What are the pros and cons of using PsychINFO versus Google Scholar?
Under what conditions should someone use one or the other service?
Benefits of PsychInfo


PsychInfo has more accurate metadata.
PsychInfo permits more controlled search terms over that metadata.
PsycInfo makes it easy to download a set of references. Without using third party tools Google Scholar only exports one reference at a time (as far as I am aware).
PsycInfo contains abstracts for quick browsing. Google scholar requires you to follow a link to the publisher to get the abstract.
PsycInfo lists references and cited-by whereas Google Scholar only has cited-by.
The version of PsycInfo that I use through ProQuest has an option to export formatted references in a range of bibliographic styles.
Both support full text integration. I've often found more one-click access to PDFs in PsycInfo. However, Google Scholar will let you know if a PDF is freely available on the Internet.


Benefits of Google Scholar


Google Scholar is free to use. So naturally if you don't have access to PsychInfo, then it is there.
Google scholar includes more content from more disciplines. But PsycInfo has great coverage of psychology.
Google Scholar does not require a password to access.
Google Scholar is quicker to start. For example, at my university, you need to go to find and go to the library site, find the page that allows you to search for databases, search for 'psycinfo', log-in. This can typically take  10 to 20 seconds. Bookmarks and saved passwords speed up the process considerably. Nonetheless, with Google Scholar I can get started with a search in 2 seconds. And the search flows naturally from a regular Google search. If all I want to do is get a single article or get a quick sense of what research has been done on a topic, that speed is important. Of course, for longer sessions, this time is no big deal.
Google Scholar has efficient BibTeX citation export.
Google Scholar has "related articles" that generates interesting suggestions.
Google Scholar sessions don't time out. PsycInfo sessions do time out. Thus, if you are moving between searching, reading, and other activities, this time-out on PsycInfo is a nuisance.
Google Scholar makes it easy to obtain an APA formatted citation for a given reference.