An objective look at the Google Scholar

The Internet is one of the best things I’ve ever encountered. Of all the portals out there, I like and use Google the most. It is not only a search engine, but the company made the portal into a tool that covers streamlined searches from news to blogs to even theses.

In college, the standard is to pass a thesis for one to be able to graduate. One of the components of this thesis is its review of related literature. These are composed of other studies that are related to one’s own paper, and also other info from online encyclopedias and dictionaries. To make things easier for me in my thesis research, I opted to research online. In just a few clicks, I got what I needed. More information that I would get, if  I took an hour or two to comb through the shelves in a traditional library.

One of the most helpful things for formerly lazy students like me would be the studies uploaded by professional researchers and the theses of Master’s and Doctorate students. What I did before was to look for studies uploaded by the likes of Ingenta or FindArticles, on Google. My searches were made easier when I started using Google Scholar. With searches that showed exclusive results on studies, theses, journals, books and other academic material, my research became more streamlined. In short, Google Scholar became one of the main tools in my thesis research.

However, though the help from Google Scholar was excellent, I have one major complaint. It’s that there are salient and highly relevant results that need to be paid for to be accessed. The stuff from the likes of Ingenta, Blackwell-Synergy and FindArticles are priced at $20 up. I know that it’s worth it, that it’s made from the blood, sweat and tears of other people, but for a formerly struggling student such as myself, such a price to pay could be too high for just a single article. I need other articles to use, too.

But still, there’s a silver lining. One can always use the abstracts that are offered on the results, free of charge. And if there’s one thing that’s great with Google Scholar results, it’s that some books offer previews of their content. It’s just that they’re either in .jpeg or .pdf format, which makes it hard for one to lift it directly from the browser to the word processor. But if you’re patient in taking notes, or if you have another computer, you can look up the results on one pc/mac, then type it up on the other machine. Just remember to cite, cite and cite. Plagiarism is very rampant, and if you’re still a student, it gives you the risk of academic consequences.

Google Scholar could also be used for those who make eBooks. Backed with solid theory, getting ideas from others’ brilliance, then you may be able to churn out an excellent piece of work that will surely impress your clients.

So if you need a tool for your online research needs, look no further, there’s Google Scholar for you!