The Role of Google Scholar in Evidence Reviews and its Applicability to Grey Literature Searching

An interesting paper from PLOS One addressing the role of Google Scholar in searching for grey literature (one of the key questions posed by the authors: "what proportion of Google Scholar search results is grey literature?")  Via extensive case studies and analysis, the authors conclude that "the high proportion of grey literature that is missed by Google Scholar means that it is not a viable alternative to hand searching as a stand-alone tool."  The key notation in this phrase is alternative, since the author's do admit that a considerable amount of grey literature is indexed in Google Scholar; they key though is to recognize Scholar's role as a supplement to hand searching and other means for locating grey literature, in lieu of a be-all-end-all approach.

The open-access article can be accessed here.

Comments

  1. Dean GiustiniMay 21, 2017 at 10:31 AM

    Thanks Marcus for pointing to the Haddaway et al (2015) article which examines whether Google Scholar is a possible replacement for searching commercial databases such as Web of Science and Scopus as a systematic review tool. Bramer, Giustini et al (2013, 2016) came to similar conclusions in that Google scholar is a useful tool for browsing and "discovery" but not as a structured tool for searching or as a replacement for curated bibliographic databases. Mother Google can also be used for browsing for grey literature and discovering it through that process, and reporting that process is part of the systematic review process. Regards, Dean

    ReplyDelete
  2. Marcus VaskaSeptember 30, 2017 at 5:32 PM

    Discussion on Google Scholar, from Dean Giustini's HL Wiki: http://hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca/index.php/Google_scholar

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Applying Systematic Review Search Methods to the Grey Literature (Case Study)

the Environmental Sciences LibGuide at the University of Ottawa  emphasizes the importance of establishing a search strategy at the outset, not only when consulting databases, but when perusing grey literature as well: "searching for grey literature is complex and the number of results one retrieves can be overwhelming if you have not set strict parameters from the get-go." ( Langlois , 2017). The following case study on s chool-based breakfast programs in Canada  exemplify Langlois' statement.
Read more

Eduscapes Advanced Information Cluster: Grey Literature

A resource-intensive page for students devoted to providing an overview of grey literature.  Written by Annette Lamb, a self-proclaimed educator, lifelong learner, and mobile maverick, this site is similar to Coles Notes, or perhaps a point-of care resource, as it breaks the study of grey literature into several sections: Grey Literature Defined Pros and Cons of Grey Literature Access to Grey Literature  Conference Documents Course Materials  Data Sets and Statistics  Dissertations and Theses Essays and Treatise  Papers Prints Projects Reports Social Media  Standards Other Materials LibGuide on Grey Literature  Institutional Repositories  General Sources of Grey Literature  Grey Literature and the Scholarly Publication Cycle Lamb's personal anecdotes, and recommendations (including reference to both GreyNet and Schopfel's and Farace's monograph of Grey Literature)  The site is available here . 
Read more