Wednesday, October 10, 2007

“Find it at SPC” using Google Scholar

St. Petersburg College Libraries, with help from our IT department, the College Center for Library Automation, and Ex Libris SFX technology, is now allowing Google Scholar to link to full-text articles that are within SPC library databases. This is an exciting development that allows researchers to utilize the familiar Google interface to find scholarly resources that might otherwise be hidden forever. Click here for a handout that explains how you can "Find it at SPC" using Google Scholar both on and off campus.

Of course, allowing Google Scholar to link to our library databases is not the be-all-end-all for high quality research and there are definitely pros and cons to using it. However, one thing is certain: Google and Google Scholar are here to stay and, if used properly, they can be great discovery tools that on many occasions actually guide users back to quality and frequently "hidden" library resources.

Stay tuned for more information regarding "Find it at SPC" using Google Scholar.

44 comments:

Anonymous said...

I used the Google Scholar to see if I could get some information about "Comparative Economic Systems". I was able to find one paper on my first try that was "Find it at SPC". Overall the quality of what I was looking for was in the text. So yes I will be using Google Scholar again.

Unknown said...

That was a great search tool, and very simple. For finding a full article at scholar.google.com, I just search for a title like "The clash of civilizations", as I was in campus, the small link of "find it at SPC" appears next to the title of some of the search results. By clicking on that, it drove me through the page which I could access to the full text of the article. I just need to find which type I'm looking for. I picked academic: one file, then the citation of the article came up which I could access to the full text from there. That was a great and helpful experience.

Unknown said...

I love google scholar. I searched for 'global warming' as a test. I restriced my search to Biology, Life Sciences and Environmental Sciences using the advanced search feature and received ~31,600 results. This is very respectable and would be sufficient for a paper on the subject. I also like the additional features that are available such as assistance with the various types of citation styles. I am glad to have been made aware of this resource.

Anonymous said...

I found that Google Scholar was very easy to use. I did a search on climate change and found a full text article. It seems like the website offers a variety of information. It has my vote.

Anonymous said...

I did not like using google scholar. I tried looking up something I needed to know for a paper assignment and discovered that I was better off using google.com. I thought that maybe it was the way I worded it or what I searched so I just typed in something completly different to search for and still found that the results were again, something I would of been better off searching for on google.

Anonymous said...

I used Google Scholar to look up information on my career chocie to write a paper... I found that the Google Scholar was very helpful and I found much needed information that I can use for my paper... I definately will be using this website for future sources and material.

Anonymous said...

I tried out a couple practice searches and I did not feel that it was much different from the original google. I will use it again latter and maybe when I am looking for something more specific then I will see a difference.

Anonymous said...

Stephanie searched for "Babies and Sign Language" I thought Google Scholar was use fully it actually brought up a number of books on the first try. It also gave me a link to the American Sign Language -- Juvenile literature. I think I will use this recourse again.

cultfree said...

I noticed while reading comments from other bloggers, that several people said they didn't see much difference between google scholar and google.com, so I decided to do an experiment. I had previously attempted to look up some information pertaining to my future career on google.com and was unable to retrieve what I was looking for. I tried putting the same words and phrases in google scholar and unfortunately, came up empty as well. However, I don't know if this proves that the search engines aren't that different or that it proves I'm not using the right method for obtaining my information. Oh well. :)

Unknown said...

I used the google scholar to look up a topic on my career goal(nursing) and tons of information became available to me, I didn't know where to begin. On the link that I did choose, provided a lot of information for me to use. I will be using google scholar again!

Stefanie A. said...

I liked the Google Scholar. It was helpful and easy to use. I work in an animal shelter in California, so I was curious to see if there were any books related to the topic of animal shelters. To my surprise there were quite a few results, more than what I was expecting. I have a few books about shelter medicine (medical textbooks), but I did not know that there were books about the shelter environment itself. For example, there were books regarding about adopting and saving animals from shelters, animal overpopulation, and the stress of shelter life on dogs and cats. When I want to search for a book on the subject of animal shelters, I know that I can use the Google Scholar.

Elisha said...

I used the google scholar to find a topic for my research paper and found it very effective. I will use it in the future and feel that it was a very effective shot cut to eliminate the unreliable material.

Anonymous said...

I am a "Distance Learning Student" at SPC. It only to a few seconds to set up Google Scholar on my home computer. I tried it out and I love it. Its is so much easier to find resources now. I will be using it alot.

crystal said...

I used Google Scholar for an issue paper for american government. It returned alot of useful resources, I will definately use again, also google scholar is simple to use, gotta luv that!!

Chris Perrin said...

My search topic was The Japanese Economy under the news tab. Google Scholar found several legitimate websites from many different counties and sources. I'd have to give two thumbs up!

Chris Perrin said...

I used Google Scholar to search for information on The Japanese Economy. I found several creditable articles and websites from major news groups and Governments. I what I was looking for with little trouble I would use this site to help with writing papers.

Anonymous said...

I think that Google Scholar is definitely a worth while reference search. I was able to find many articles and sites that are credible, and I think that's really important when you are trying to do a research paper for school.

Heather Davis said...

I used Google Scholar to find articles on issues in the U.S democracy. It was very easy to use and I loved how the articles that were found were done by people/organizations that knew about the subject and were not stating their opinion but the real facts.

Unknown said...

I love it. What a time saver. Almost everything is done for you!

Anonymous said...

Was able to find a full-text article within SPC's databases while using Google Scholar. Everything seems user-friendly.

Anonymous said...

I used Google Scholar as a practice for my computer Literacy class i am always looking for web sites that will give information that i am looking for my personal knowledge and also for my college classes. Thank you again Mr. Mairn.

Phyllis Sizelove said...

I used Google Scjolar for investigating how it works for my computer literacy class. It is way cool! I looked up articles on global warming. It is a very productive tool. I will be using this avenue of research not only to investigate things for my BSN classes, but also for classes I write for my nursing staff. Thanks Mr. Mairn.

Anonymous said...

I used google scholar,but I think I wiould still use google. Google scholar works great, but I have been using google for years, it would be hard for me to change. It is nioce to know about Google scholar, I didn't know anything about it, so now I can tell a friend maybe it would benifit them more.

AlexAbrams said...

Google scholar is awesome! Ive never heard of it until now, and i wish i had. Im gonna use this for future school projects/assignments. It...is... swwweeeeeet. Thanks Mr. Mairn!!!

Anonymous said...

I used Google Scholar to locate information on my bone disease "Osteogenesis Imperfecta". Not only did I find a full text document, I found one on my first search. This is such a wonderful asset to be aware of! I will definitely be using Google Scholar again in the future.

Jay Pearson said...

Using Google Scholar I was able to find 11 books and articles by my favorite author Max Lucado. This is pretty cool stuff. Thanks Mr. Mairn!

Anonymous said...

I used google scholar to find information for my basic wrighting class my topic was single parents and i needed information on the statistics and i found a good number of references on my first try i will definatly use google scholar again and im glad i found this site i didnt know it even existed. Thanks chad for refering it.

Anonymous said...

I used Google Scholar as just a fun way to browse through different books and articles. I typed in All Star Game as my keyword and the first book on the results page was Game Of Shadows. The book that was written by two San Francisco Sports Writers, who over the past decade and a half gathered information about the steroids era in baseball. Most notably Barry Bonds and Victor Conte the man behind the Balco Labs, who produced and provided steroids to many athletes.

Unknown said...

Google scholar is a wonderful program to us. I used this for a project that medical terminology class for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder also known as OCD. The site gave me so mucch information to help with my project.

Anonymous said...

I think this search engine is pretty good. I searched for "eating discorders in America" and it returned with some great information. In all honesty though, I will probably continue to use Google or the spc library online. It's a bit of a hassle commenting because all of these comments are old and you have to jump through some hoops in order to add a comment.
Nicole Noblet (online CTS)

Kiley Butler said...

I used Google Scholar to look up information on Child Psychology and I was amazed at how many results I found on the subject. This is definitely a resource I will use in the future for papers.

Unknown said...

I used Google Scholar to research information on Alzheimer’s Disease. I found several resources that were very helpful. This tool seems to be very helpful in locating resources for papers and other research.

Carolyn Bush, CTS1101 student said...

To be frank, I already know how to "find it at SPC," without Google scholar, so it seems silly to use Google to redirect me to resources that I could otherwise find more efficiently. That being said, I can definitely see myself using Google Scholar as a secondary search tool when JSTOR, Wilson Web or the like are failing me. I can see where having a comprehensive search tool would be really helpful. With this in mind, Google Scholar had many more databases than SPC's library Online (this is a major plus!), but some of the links to "find it at SPC" failed where they wouldn't have through Library Online.
In short, I'm glad I know that Google Scholar exists.

p.s. I was searching "genre theory" for a communications class, Popular Arts in America.

Mimi Mellquist said...

Well I would have to say that google scholar is a good search tool. I did like that it gave me a little less results, and alot of them where books and articles. This helps out when you need more then just websites to do research on. So I can deffently see myself using it in the future when I'm doing research.

Cassandra Carpenter said...

I was able to use the Google Scholar and was successful. I searched the endangered species of the ocean and it gave me great information. I am glad that I found this site it will help me with future papers.

Anonymous said...

Tiffanie Radcliffe CTS 1101 says:

Google scholar is great, if you are looking for resources and material specifically located at SPC, but I would rarely use it.

I decided to look up globalization and found a wealth of options, so in that regard, Google Scholar is a useful tool, however, I am very resourceful, and would find what I needed to with or without GS.

Elenee Karpathios said...

I thought this was a great search tool, and I honestly never knew about it, until now. I used the Google Scholar receive some information about "stem cell research", and I got surprising results. I was able to find a complete current article right away at "Find it at SPC". I really found this useful, so I will be using Google Scholar again.

Elenee Karpathios

Linda Hardin said...

I have been doing extensive research on the sexual predator’s registry. I guess the topic is not something that would be linked to research through typical school subjects but I gave it a try anyway. I was disappointed at first to find just 1 listing but it does seem like a book I want to read. It lists the contents and is over 200 pages. It has the pros and cons and discusses reform which I am against. I usually confine my readings to the internet but after using the SPC Google scholar search I found a book that seems to summarize all of the information that I want to read about rather than searching web pages that are against or for getting rid of the registry. I tried changing the order that I searched from sexual predator’s registry to predator’s registry sexual and I still received one book result. I am not disappointed.
Linda Hardin

Anonymous said...

I found Google Scholar very useful. I researched surfing and found a wide array of articles. I would definetly use it again.

Travis Kane CTS 1101

Lindsey W. said...

I find google scholar to be very useful, especially with schoolwork. It seems as though since everything involves the internet these days, you can't know for sure that you are dealing with a credible source. My experience with google scholar has been a good one, I've used it multiple times for school assignments. It's very convenient to link to the school's databases from your own computer.

Poppy Carlson-Sandoval said...

I found Google Scholar to be a quick and efficient way of locating my topic of interest and was able to locate a full-text article. I searched for Planting a Garden in Peru. I located - Cultivated Plant Species Diversity in Home Gardens of an Amazonian Peasant Village in Northeastern Peru. I loved how it gave me in depth information about all aspects of gardens in Peru such as how it contributes o a family wealth, that gardens are a means of inheritance as many are over 30 years old, what best grows based on terrain. My husbands family is from Peru and reading thsi explains alot about my father-in-laws views of home gardens. I will utilize this tool again in future research - especially for class reseach assignments. I like that I can narrow my search to items on SPC campusus and do alot of teh searching before even stepping foot in the library should I need the book itself!

Anonymous said...

Google Scholar was an effective tool for finding and retrieving exactly what I was looking for. I conducted a search regarding a topic I'm currently working on in Microbiology. The results that were returned seemed to be credible and more than sufficient. I was able to find both full text articles and pages that contained the keyword. I will be favoriting this page!

Paul Larson
CTS1101

Anonymous said...

Hey I think google scholar was awesome, I looked up information on parvovirus b19, what I lost my unborn son to,and it gave me lots of information on this topic.
Thanks again for showing me another useful tool for school which is cool.
lol-
Ashley Watson
cts 1101

Oana said...

I did a search for Medicinal effect of tea on humans, and got many article and book results that contained the "find it at SPC" link next to it.

I like Google Scholar. I know many students use Google.com to find resources for essays, and some of the findings may not be very reliable. Google Scholar can help students find sources that are more academically inclined.