Can Google Scholar Revolutionize Research Methods?

[Pattonias]

My friend showed this to me the other day. I think it is a great idea.
http://scholar.google.com/"

It makes searching for references and sources for research much, much easier.

 

[f95toli]

I've been using Scholar for a few years, most of the time it is more convenient than e.g. Web of Science and it is also much, much faster.

So yes, it is a great resource.

 

[Pattonias]

I guess I'm behind the curve then, but I'm happy that it is available.

 

[mikeph]

Does it contain all the things the standard databases do? Someone told me a few days ago that to get an overview "you may want to just use Google, or, marginally better, Scholar". I got the impression I should stick to my university database.

 

[f95toli]

No, it it not quite as good as INSPEC and the others. But most of the time it is good enough, which is not bad considering it is a free resource.

Another advantage is that the search engine is quite flexible and fast, I personally think the interface is more intuitive than e.g. web of science etc.

And again, the fact that is just a single click away (if you add the scholar icon to the google toolbar) is a big plus. Login into Web of Science takes a while, at least were I work now.

 

[Sorry!]

In school we were always shown to use Google scholar or the school databases so I can't compare it to other 'academic search engines' but I do know that it worked really well for the research I've done.

 

[Topher925]

Science Direct pwns all.