LP English - Design Thinking Research Project: Library Databases vs. Google/Google Scholar

As part of your research, your teacher may sometimes require you to use articles or other resources from the library’s research databases. But what is a research database and why are they useful?

Library Research Databases

A research database is an organized, searchable collection of information that allows you to quickly search many resources simultaneously. Databases can be general, such as ProQuest, or Britannica or subject-specific, such as Science, (which has resources related only to science). 

So what makes a research database different than other search engines, like Google? There are a few important distinctions to keep in mind when you’re using a research database instead of Google. 

• Research databases typically include scholarly journal articles, popular magazine articles and newspapers, books, and videos. 
• The content of a research database is also reviewed and updated regularly by experts in the field often making it more reliable or credible.
• Full-text of the articles are free because the school pays for a subscription.
• Search techniques can be applied to focus and refine your search. 
• It is easy to identify peer reviewed (academic) journal articles. 
• Citations can be exported to reference management software such as NoodleTools etc.

How you search library databases is different from Google. Research databases use more precise, keyword searching, and most don’t automatically search the full text of a resource. Keywords are words or phrases that describe the topic you’re researching, and you’ll want to use them when searching databases to locate the most relevant resources on your topic.

Google and Google Scholar

Google and Google Scholar are both search engines that search all of the indexed web.  The difference between them is Google Scholar searches limits results to scholarly articles only.

• Searching is free, quick and easy. They use natural language searching, which allows you to search using complete sentences, such as “How many people live in Istanbul?”. They search the full-text of resources, which usually means you get many results, but not all of them are relevant to your search query. Google offers advanced searching options, but most people don’t need to use them to find what they’re looking for. 
• Google uses ads and tracks its users based on what they’re searching and clicking on, which the library doesn’t
• Not all academic content is indexed on the web, which means Goolge Scholar doesn't have access to everything.  Free full-text content is only available from open access sources so you don't get access to most scholarly articles. Google Scholar often provides you with a link to an article abstract and then asks you to pay to read the full article.
• Google's search algorithm ranks and displays your results depending on when, where and how you search especially when you are signed into you Google account. This personalization can create a filter bubble and bias your results. 

Both Google and research databases can be useful depending on your information need, but results from both need to be evaluated for accuracy and credibility. If you’re searching for scholarly research a library research database would be a better place to search than Google. However, if you’re looking for general information Google is the better search option. 

If you still have questions about research databases and how to use them, contact the Library for help. 

You can use symbols or terms in your search to make your search results more precise. Here's an overview of some of the most useful search tricks.

Databases and Google

• "X X" Putting double quotes around a phrase will find only that exact phrase, e.g. "climate change"
• AND, OR, NOT.  Use these words between search terms when searching databases. e.g. climate AND change searches for both words in the page, climate OR change looks for either word, climate NOT change looks for results with the word climate but not the word change.

Google

The default is to look for all the words in your search. Using OR (must be capitalized) will allow you to look for any one or more of the words.

• site:X  This search tells Google to limit your search to a particular site or domain.  For instance, if you limit to site:robcol.k12.tr you would only search the Robert College site.  Similarly site:gov would search only sites ending in .gov, and site:edu would search only sites ending in .edu.
• filetype:X  Using filetype: will only find certain file extensions (.doc, .pdf, .xcl, etc)
• link:X  Will list sites that gives link to the URL.
• Search social media
  Put @ in front of a term to search social media. For example: @twitter.
• Search hashtags
  Puting # in front of a word. For example: #
• Use “DEFINE:” to learn the meaning of words

You can also combine some of these search tricks, such as adding -site:nytimes.com to remove results from the New York Times website.  Click here to find more search tips.

You can use Google Advanced Search Page if you forget the search operators above. 

Google Scholar

Google Scholar provides a simple way to search for scholarly literature. Some articles you find will give you access to the full-text.  Other articles, you'll have to check in the library databases or ask the librarians. Some articles will not be available as we will have to pay for them.

Google Image Search

• Ever come across a photo that looks strangely familiar? Or if you want to know where it came from? If you save the image, and then search it on Google Images (with the camera button), you’ll be able to see similar images on the web.