(P. Köhler) Andererseits neigt die Firma bekanntlich dazu, einzelne Services überraschend einzustellen, wenn sie zu wenig genutzt werden. Deshalb an dieser Stelle ein Plädoyer für den Google Scholar, eine hervorragende Suchmaschine für wissenschaftliche Fachartikel.
GS als Recherchetool für Ärzte ist anderen Datenbanken, wie der staatlichen PubMed oder Scopus von Elsevier, ziemlich ebenbürtig, d.h. mal besser, mal schlechter. Hier ein paar fachkundige Stimmen: "Ein Vergleich der Suchergebnisse ergab bei vier klinischen Fragestellungen, dass die mit Google Scholar gefundenen Artikel eher relevant, häufiger zitiert und in Zeitschriften mit höheren Impact-Faktoren publiziert waren als die über PubMed gefundenen Beiträge." "PubMed searches yielded fewer total citations than Google Scholar results; however, PubMed appears to be more specific than Google Scholar for locating relevant primary literature articles." "Our results suggest that PubMed searches with the Clinical Queries filter are more precise than with the Advanced Scholar Search in Google Scholar for respiratory care topics." "PubMed remains an optimal tool in biomedical electronic research. Scopus covers a wider journal range, of help both in keyword searching and citation analysis, but it is currently limited to recent articles (published after 1995) compared with Web of Science. Google Scholar, as for the Web in general, can help in the retrieval of even the most obscure information but its use is marred by inadequate, less often updated, citation information." "PubMed is a proper medical database & search tool whereas Google scholar is a browsing tool… PubMed lists articles by when items are received and/or indexed whereas Google scholar lists articles based on link love (and a secret Google algorithm)… we don’t know what the database contains, what authority work is done and which journals it indexes." "A researcher must keep in mind the strengths and limitations of a particular search engine/database while searching for a particular type of data. Knowledge about types of literature and levels of detail available, user interface, ease of access, reputable content, and period of time covered allow their optimal use and maximal utility in the field of medicine."
