LibGuides: Library and learning skills: Google and Google Scholar

Google and Google Scholar

"The invisible pieces of code that form the gears and cogs of the modern machine age, algorithms have given the world everything from social media feeds to search engines..."

Hannah Fry

I can just Google, right?!

Searching for information on Google or Google Scholar can be quick and effective. The problematic part is that you won’t always find what you need for your assessment. The information may be outdated, unreliable or even behind a paywall restricting your access.

Be aware and beware...

Here are some reasons to be cautious when using Google and Google Scholar to search for relevant, credible, academic resources:

Search results are not ranked according to your search criteria alone. This is because Google shapes search results based on what it knows about you from your previous searching activity.
Search results can be influenced by wider interests including business, marketing, and political activity.
Google Scholar results include non-academic and non-peer reviewed material.

So, when is it okay to use Google?

To find publicly available information, e.g. organisational reports, government information, or health data.
For confirming citation or reference details.
Google Scholar can be good for finding academic articles but keep in mind that it has limited ability to search certain databases.

Asking the right questions in the right way

You can get the most out of search engines like Google by asking your questions in the right way. You will usually find help pages, FAQs, or guides to searching on individual search engine homepages. But here are some common tips to keep in mind:

Try to keep your search queries simple

Carefully choose your keywords, and remember to think about alternate terms that could be used

If you need to search on a single term, make the term as specific as possible

Enclose "exact phrases" in quotation marks

Leave out common words, such as the, and, in and at

Search tools usually look for word variations, including single and plural terms e.g. Australia will match to Australian, Australia's, Australians etc.

Use domains to limit your search to material on specific websites, e.g. .gov.au for Australian government sites

Values, bias and assumptions underpin algorithms

Research has made it evident that our digital systems and platforms are far from bias free. Your own experiences of search engine results will reflect that. From filter bubbles to autocomplete predictions, the underlying algorithms shaping what you find is itself shaped by the values and opinions of people who are creating, collecting, selecting, viewing or using the data.

Your Task

To see algorithmic bias in play, open up two Google image search options. Type "professor" into the first image search and "teacher" into the second. What differences and similarities do you find in your searches? What biases or assumptions do you think are shaping these results?

Now let's explore an autocomplete Google search. Type in "University students are". Any predictions surprising to you? Anything you wish wasn't suggested? Did you know you can turn off the autocomplete?

Top Tech Tips

Avoid research paywalls

Found an article on Google or Google Scholar that you want to use but it’s asking you for payment? Stop! Don’t pay for anything. Two digital hacks to set up are:

Both of these tools check Deakin resources and connect you to the article.

Alternatives to Google Scholar

Google Scholar is the best known academic search engines but there are other options like Semantic Scholar. Semantic Scholar was developed by the non-profit Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence and has around 40 million citations. Microsoft Academic is another option.