Google Scholar vs. Other Scholarly Databases

Google Scholar is fast, easy to use, and can lead to hundreds of relevant, scholarly articles within seconds. But there are dozens of other databases that may be more relevant and comprehensive for your research topic.

Consider these factor when searching Google Scholar:

Access= $$$
Links for thousands of articles indexed in Google Scholar go to publishers' Web sites, where access requires a subscriber's login or an access fee ($30-45).

The Library already paid!
Many of these same articles are available to you without additional fee, since the library pays the subscription. Our payments to OhioLINK give access at the OhioLINK EJC, but may not extend to accessing the very same article at the publisher's web site.

Get quick access with no extra charge.
Look for  Find it with OLinks or OhioLINK OLinks in the Google Scholar search results. OLinks provides access to full-text online for Oberlin subscriptions, plus a link to our catalog and our interlibrary loan information.

Other databases also include full-text and may be more relevant for your topic.
Other articles indexed in Google Scholar may be accessible through Academic Search Premier or Lexis Nexis, rather than the publisher's site.  Another incredibly rich archive, JSTOR, is best searched with its own search interface [jstor.org], as are millions of articles only found by searching comprehensive subject indexes such as SciFinder Scholar, Biological Abstracts, GeoRef, and Inspec, among others.

Improve your search strategies.
Google Scholar lacks certain features that are specifically designed for searching in a given discipline. Just a few examples: limiting by human subjects in PsycINFO, class of organism in Biological Abstracts, chemical properties in SciFinder Scholar, or by treatment in Medline. These comprehensive, highly developed subject databases are a much better choice when you need both reliable access and sophisticated search techniques.

Reduce time spent hunting for the document.
Google Scholar may offer 5 or more versions of the same article, depending on which server provides access (the publisher, the author's Web site, another indexing service, a secondary archive, etc.).

One very useful benefit of Google Scholar should be emphasized, however: it is often the fastest method of linking to an open access article (one accessible to anyone, without a subscription), since it can crawl multiple open access repositories with one search.

Rely on Find it with OLinks to lead you to full-text online or a search of OBIS, if necessary, rather than paying for an article at a publisher's Web site. We can get just about anything you need through interlibrary loan and document delivery providers - don't hesitate to ask!

Play the field.
Relying exclusively on any single source is not recommended. Rigorous academic research requires thorough searching across databases, varying your search strategy to include synonyms and alternate spellings of keywords, utilizing appropriate subject headings supplied by the database, and understanding the breadth and depth of literature indexed by each database. The library's databases have been carefully selected to provide comprehensive, retrospective and timely access to scholarly literature.

Good for a start.
Google Scholar is certainly a good start. Recognize, however, that you are missing a lot - perhaps the key paper that will be your best resource. Rely on the library's subscriptions as your best source. Databases are all accessible at http://www.ohiolink.edu/resources.cgi. You need your Oberlin College ID with a valid library barcode in order to login when off campus.  Or download the VPN client from the CIT's web site and authenticate by VPN before accessing library resources.

Want to know more? Contact the science librarian.