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Gambia: Google Scholar

Google Scholar

The Pros & Cons of Google Scholar

Pros

  • Searches scholarly articles, books, conference papers and other materials all in one search
  • Can be linked with libraries
  • Links directly to Google Books
  • Links directly to cited or citing articles
  • Interdisciplinary
  • Good replacement for when there is no access to scholarly sources

Cons

  • May not be current or comprehensive
  • Less precise than academic databases
  • Does not search beyond a pay wall
  • May not cover older publications, particularly those not published electronically. (If it is not on the Internet Google cannot find it).
  • Many records only available as summary / abstract
  • Results ranked by algorithm which favors frequently-cited references.
    • Bias towards older references.
  • Updates to existing records take 6-9 months to a year or longer.