From: Sandy Thatcher <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2012 10:31:26 -0500

I suspect a lot depends on how much the searcher already knows. E.g.,
because I know philosophy well, I do not generally start with a plain
Google search or even use Wikipedia but go straight to the
authoritative and highly respected free online resource in the field,
the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, where I am going to get a
much more sophisticated answer to my query than I likely would get
from more generic sources.  Any study of usage, to be really
enlightening, should take this kind of level of knowledge of the user
into account.

Sandy Thatcher


> From: Sally Morris <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2012 15:27:46 +0100
>
> I have a related question - what do people actually use?  Academic
> databases, Google Scholar, or plain old Google?
>
> This may be an instance when identifying what's best is fruitless in the
> face of what users actually do.
>
> I'd be interested to know of any recent studies on what search tools are
> more commonly used by graduate students, researchers, and for that matter
> faculty.
>
> Sally
>
> Sally Morris
> South House, The Street, Clapham, Worthing, West Sussex, UK  BN13 3UU
> Email:  [log in to unmask]