From: Xiaotian Chen <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:47:58 -0500

This is from a survey at UC Santa Cruz:

The title: "Shifting Sands: Science Researchers on Google Scholar, Web
of Science, and PubMed, with Implications for Library Collections
Budgets."

The findings: "Web of Science was the single most used database,
selected by 41.6%. Statistically there was no difference between
PubMed (21.5%) and Google Scholar (18.7%) as the second most popular
database. 83% of those surveyed had used Google Scholar and an
additional 13% had not used it but would like to try it. Very few
databases account for the most use, and subject-specific databases are
used less than big multidisciplinary databases (PubMed is the
exception). While Google Scholar is favored for its ease of use and
speed, those who prefer Web of Science feel more confident about the
quality of their results than do those who prefer Google Scholar. When
asked to choose between paying for article database access or paying
for journal subscriptions, 66% of researchers chose to keep journal
subscriptions, while 34% chose to keep article databases. "

The full text link:  http://www.istl.org/10-fall/refereed3.html

---
Xiaotian Chen
Bradley University
http://hilltop.bradley.edu/~chen/



On Mon, Sep 17, 2012 at 5:19 PM, LIBLICENSE <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> 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]