scholarly journals Complementary Value of Databases for Discovery of Scholarly Literature: A User Survey of Online Searching for Publications in Art History

2010 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Nemeth
Keyword(s):  
Search Engines ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
Online Searching ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Scholarly Literature ◽  
Specific Research ◽  
Web Search Engines ◽  
Complementary Value

Discovery of academic literature through Web search engines challenges the traditional role of specialized research databases. Creation of literature outside academic presses and peer-reviewed publications expands the content for scholarly research within a particular field. The resulting body of literature raises the question of whether scholars prefer the perceived broader access of Web search engines or opt for the precision of field-specific research databases. Surveys of art historians indicate a complementary use of online search tools with a reliance on field-specific research databases to discover authoritative content. Active use of Web search engines and initiatives for open access suggest that research databases will integrate into an evolving Web-based infrastructure that supports discovery and access of scholarly literature.

Panizzi, Lubetzky and Google: How the Modern Web Environment is Reinventing the Theory of Cataloguing

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Grant Campbell ◽  
Karl V. Fast
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Knowledge Structure ◽  
The Other ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Web Environment ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Web Search Engines

This paper uses cataloguing theory to interpret the partial results of an exploratory study of university students using Web search engines and Web-based OPACs. The participants expressed frustration with the OPAC; while they sensed that it was “organized,” they were unable to exploit that organization, and attributed their failure to the inadequacy of their own skills. In the Google searches, on the other hand, students were getting support traditionally advocated in catalogue design. Google gave them starting points: resources that broadly addressed their requirements, enabling them to get a greater sense of the knowledge structure that would help them to increase their precision in subsequent searches.Cette étude utilise la théorie du catalogage pour interpréter les résultats partiels d'une recherche exploratoire d'étudiants universitaires utilisant les moteurs de recherche Web et les catalogues publics en ligne. Les participants ont exprimé leur frustration envers les catalogues publics en ligne. Bien qu'ils percevaient que les catalogues sont "organisés", ils ont été incapables d’utiliser cette organisation et ont attribué leur échec au manque d'adaptation de leurs propres capacités. Lors de recherches avec Google, d'autre part, les étudiants ont reçu l’assistance traditionnellement proposée dans la conception d’un catalogue. Google leur a donné des points de départ : ressources qui répondent largement à leurs besoins, leur permettant ainsi d’obtenir une meilleure compréhension de la structure des connaissances qui pourraient les aider par la suite à augmenter leur précision lors de recherche. 

scholarly journals The Impact of Web Search Engines on Subject Searching in OPAC

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 168-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Yu ◽  
Margo Young
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Web Search ◽  
State University ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Online Catalogs ◽  
Major Increase ◽  
Web Search Engines ◽  
The Impact

This paper analyzes the results of transaction logs at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) and studies the effects of implementing a Web-based OPAC along with interface changes. The authors find that user success in subject searching remains problematic. A major increase in the frequency of searches that would have been more successful in resources other than the library catalog is noted over the time period 2000-2002. The authors attribute this increase to the prevalence of Web search engines and suggest that metasearching, relevance-ranked results, and relevance feedback ( "more like this") are now expected in user searching and should be integrated into online catalogs as search options.

A branding model for web search engines

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Zhang ◽  
Bernard J. Jansen ◽  
Anna S. Mattila
Keyword(s):  
Search Engines ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Web Search Engines

scholarly journals Web Search Engines - Not Yet a Reliable Replacement for Bibliographic Databases

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 85-87
Author(s):  
Emma Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
English Language ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Boolean Logic ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Quality Of Reporting ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Web Search Engines

A Review of: Bates, J., Best, P., McQuilkin, J., & Taylor, B. (2017) Will web search engines replace bibliographic databases in the systematic identification of research? The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 43(1), 8-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2016.11.003 Abstract Objective - To explore whether web search engines could replace bibliographic databases in retrieving research. Design - Systematic review. Setting - English language articles in health and social care; comparing bibliographic databases and web search engines for retrieving research published between January 2005 and August 2015, in peer-reviewed journals and available in full-text. Subjects - Eight bibliographic databases: ASSIA (Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts), CINAHL Plus (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), LISA (Library and Information Science Abstracts), Medline, PsycInfo, Scopus, SSA (Social Services Abstracts), and SSCI (Social Sciences Citation Index) and five web search engines: Ask, Bing, Google, Google Scholar, Yahoo. Methods - A literature search via the above bibliographic databases and web search engines. The retrieved results were independently appraised by two researchers, using a combination of tools and checklists, including the PRESS checklist (McGowan et al., 2016) and took guidance on developing search strategies from the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (2009). Main Results - Sixteen papers met the appraisal requirements. Each paper compared at least one bibliographic database against one web-search engine. The authors also discuss findings from their own search process. Precision and sensitivity scores from each paper were compared. The results highlighted that web search engines do not necessarily use Boolean logic and in general have limited functionality compared to bibliographic databases. There were variances in the way precision scores were calculated between papers, but when based on the first 100 results, web search engines were similar to some databases. However, their sensitivity scores were much weaker. Conclusion - Whilst precision scores were strong for web search engines, sensitivity was lacking; therefore web search engines cannot be seen as a replacement for bibliographic databases at this time. The authors recommend improving the quality of reporting in studies regarding literature searching in academia in order for reliable comparisons to be made.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document