by Kerry Fitz-Gerald
A recent article, “Google Scholar’s Dramatic Coverage Improvement Five Years After Debut,” by Xiaotian Chen in Serials Review reports on the results of an empirical study comparing Google Scholar’s coverage of scholarly journals with the coverage of commercial services. Though I don’t agree with Chen’s conclusion that the dramatic improvements in Google Scholar’s coverage means libraries can drop subscriptions to commercial database providers, I do think that his work emphasizes how valuable Google Scholar can be as a cost-effective research tool.
In short, Chen explored how well Google Scholar performed at retrieving scholarly journal article records. He first identified 8 commercial databases that Google Scholar partners with and then chose 400 articles at random that appeared in those databases. He then checked to see what percentage of those articles Google Scholar could find. His findings indicated that Scholar has a 98 to 100% success rate. He concludes that “Google Scholar is able to retrieve all scholarly publications from databases and Web sites that are open to Google Scholar.” (p. 226) Continue reading 'Google Scholar as an Alternative to Scholarly Databases'»
by Philippe Cloutier
This image comes from the Wikipedia entry on the Project Triangle, which, in and of itself, is entirely interesting and an important consideration for project design. However, in library school I learned that the same triangle applies to online databases.
Take Google for instance. It is certainly fast, with search results literally taking less than a second to run. It’s also as cheap as it gets: free. Their business thrives on pushing advertisements towards the searcher/user. Google: home of the fast and cheap. Continue reading 'The Database Triangle'»
by Erin Hoffrance
Ever been on the bus and wanted to know the answer to a question? Well, I have, and now, instead of having to wait until I get home, try and remember what my question was and do some internet sleuthing, I can just contact the Washington State Library (SL). For iPhone and Android users, the WSL is now offering reference by mobile app through ASK-WA. Washington State residents have access to librarians 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. This app was developed by the Secretary of State which also developed an app for Washington Corporations search.
Hat tip to Jennifer Hill for bringing this to my attention!
As seen on TechFlash.
by Philippe Cloutier
While the Internet has certainly made research faster and more efficient, it can leave us disconnected and sometimes misguided. We understand that everything isn’t online, but how can we be certain without first running multiple Google searches, scouring through paid databases and digging through bookmarks. Many times our efforts are rewarded, yet there are cases when time is wasted.
I’ll admit that telephone conversations aren’t my thing, rather favoring text messages and e-mail. However, as a research tool, it sits at the top of my list. I’ve worked with too many patrons who have searched online for hours, even days, hoping that the right search string will give them something that has, in all likelihood, never been scanned. In many cases, these are government documents. A quick call to the appropriate department or agency can save not only hours, but grief. Continue reading 'Research Tool: The Telephone'»
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