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Google Scholar

The controversy surrounding Google Scholar

Because Google has never released the collection of resources from which it draws it results list, nor the algorithm it uses for ranking results, its use has been controversal. In addition, there are some very expensive competitors such as Web of Science that have traditionally spanned the scholarly literature whose methods are better accepted. As a result, there has been research comparing Google Scholar to more traditional products. A sample is found on this page.

Research about Google Scholar

Giustini, D., & Boulos, M. N. K. (2013). Google Scholar is not enough to be used alone for systematic reviews. Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, 5(2), 214. doi:10.5210/ojphi.v5i2.4623. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3733758/
Howland, J. L., Wright, T. C., Boughan, R. A., & Roberts, B. C. (2009). How Scholarly Is Google Scholar? A Comparison to Libray Databases. College & Research Libraries, 70(3), 227–234. Retrieved from http://crl.acrl.org/content/70/3/227.full.pdf+html?sid=d25ffe3c-1d25-475e-a4b7-603de08f30c0
Martell, C. (460AD). A Citation Analysis of College & Research Libraries Comparing Yahoo, Google, Google Scholar, and ISI Web of Knowledge with Implications for Promotion and Tenure. College & Research Libraries, 70(5). Retrieved from http://crl.acrl.org/content/70/5/460.full.pdf+html?sid=78e7c460-9541-4aca-9992-8c8b5f4c86a3
Neuhaus, C., Neuhaus, E., & Asher, A. (2008). Google Scholar Goes to School: The Presence of Google Scholar on College and University Web Sites. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 34(1), 39–51. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6W50-4RPKYNG-1/2/f1ad34be1e23a7f01639a6f2a335db4f
Neuhaus, C., Neuhaus, E., Asher, A., & Wrede, C. (2006). The Depth and Breadth of Google Scholar: An Empirical Study. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 6(2), 127–141.