Why is Google Scholar a Better Search Tool?

Hi,
If you have ever used a university or institutional database, Google Scholar is very similar. You type in some keywords about whatever you are researching, and the database will search for your keywords. Although similar, Google is better than a regular database in many ways. One of the most important ways, to a researcher at least, is that Google has the capacity to search a greater number of sources. Institutional databases are usually limited to the journals your university pays for. Google allows you to search many different journals, free and for a fee, that usually go beyond the access of your university. Although many sites do not allow access to an entire article without a fee, they usually provide you with an abstract, a list of key words, and some might allow access to the first section of an article.

Tips and Tools for Efficient Researching

Having access to a vast number of sources is a great research tool, but it won’t help you if you don’t research efficiently. Having a solid topic will help you choose good keywords. You need to make sure your topic is as specific as you can get. Once you have your topic, make a list of keywords related to your topic. The more specific your topic, the more specific your keywords will be. Articles are about specific things, and if you don’t make sure your topic and keywords are precise, it will take forever to sift through articles that aren’t related to your topic. Once you have your topic and list of keywords, it is time to start researching.

On the Google Scholar site, enter your keywords into the search bar. You can use the advanced options for more efficient researching. The advanced options will allow you to choose the type of source, the publication date, and other options that will narrow your search results. If you don’t get what you are looking for in your first search, don’t worry. Even if you are researching efficiently, research takes time. If you exhausted your list of keywords, and you still haven’t found what you need, think of some more keywords. Sometimes it helps if you take some keywords from articles that may be related to your topic, but aren’t exactly what you need.

If you feel that you have exhausted every keyword that you could think of, and you still haven’t found adequate sources, you may need to revise your topic. Revising your topic and starting over isn’t the end of the world. This will often make your academic paper more original, and more interesting.