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InfoSkills for Social and Behavioral Sciences

InfoSkills @ TiU

Google Scholar vs. library databases

Google Scholar Library databases
+ Easy to use. Not so easy to use. It takes some time to find out how a database works.
–   Limited search functionality. Enormous number of results and unsatisfactory options to filter results. Hence not much control over your searches.  + Extensive search functionality. Compared to Google Scholar: a manageable number of results for a similar search. Many advanced filter options. Hence greater control over your searches.
Compiled by a web crawler that searches only the Surface Web. + Compiled by humans; materials come from the Surface Web as well as the Deep Web.
No helpful additional information about publications (e.g., topical terms such as subjects, descriptors, or keywords) is provided.  + Additional information is provided for each publication (e.g., database-specific terms such as subjects, descriptors, or keywords, which are assigned by subject specialists). 
Google Scholar's crawlers can be fooled, resulting in unreliable information being indexed (e.g., articles from predatory journals). + Only credible information is included. People (subject specialists) can't be fooled so easily.

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