Sara Siddiqui, W 14: Search Strategies

In reflecting on the application of research strategies reviewed in class, I believe the lecture on Google Scholar vs. Library Databases was quite beneficial. Personally, I prefer using York University's Library Databases, as it is more organized, and it provides specific databases (that I am comfortable in using) like ProQuest, JSTOR, Social Sciences Abstracts, and a lot more. In addition, I appreciate the fact that most of the sources found on our Library Database are scholarly, which is quite important for academic research. Also, I believe that it is more reliable, as most articles are found in academic journals. However, sometimes due to the specifications of York University's library database, such as using keywords like "AND" and "OR," for relevant search results, it may become tricky at times, as you really need to try several keywords, before actually getting the results you want. However, with Google Scholar (in my experience), I believe it was more receptive to the types of articles I wanted to read. Nonetheless, the only drawback of Google Scholar is that the search results may not be as diverse and plentiful. There have been times when I used Google Scholar to figure out which "keywords" would work best to get the results I want, and then to use that on York's online database. Moreover, I have found that at times, there may be a great article that I may have found on either Google Scholar or York's Library Databases; however, it may not be available (for whatever reason). During instances like this, I have copied and pasted the title of the article to the other research portal, and try to gain access to it from there. In addition, most articles may also be found in books. Hence, whenever I find that I do not have access to a certain source, I enter the title on Google, and try to get a hold of the book that has the article I am looking for. For the future, I will rely on both, as Google Scholar and Library Databases, alike, provide great results, and enrich my researching experience.