WHAT IF GOOGLE KILLED SCHOLAR?
http://www.maxkemman.nl/2013/09/what-if-google-killed-scholar/
· by Max Kemman · in Information Retrieval
For those of us who use Google Scholar on a regular basis (and noticed when it was dropped from the "More" drop down menu in Google Search), the idea of searching for anything academically viable without the Scholar option is bleak. Although academic data is findable using Google Search, it is similar to looking for the needle in that haystack - sifting through the pile looking for truly academic information and academic connections such as "cited by" and "related information" which can make any search more efficient.
Google Scholar is a wonderful filter and if used well, it can be a powerful tool and a time-saving one amidst the vast field of hay.
![Mean and mode responses to “Which of the following search engines, websites or databases do you use?”, ordered by mean score (N=288), taken from [3JustGoogleIt]](http://www.maxkemman.nl/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/searchengines.png)
I haven't used Google Scholar much. I've taught library lessons to middle schoolers on how to access databases like Gale (through the public library). I like the fact that Scholar exists, but I haven't weighed its usefulness against paid databases yet.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest difference is the content - Gale provides access to the content it is licensed to include in its database offerings, which can be narrow and somewhat limited; Google Scholar is simply a large filter for the fire hose of information available on the Internet.
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