Guide to hiking the Pacific Crest Trail - Pacific Crest Trail Association (https://www.pcta.org/take-a-hike)
Remember to evaluate websites according to the following criteria:
Authority / Credibility
Determining the author for a source is important in deciding whether information is credible. The author should show some evidence of being knowledgeable, reliable and truthful.
Accuracy
The source should contain accurate and up-to-date information that can be verified by other sources.
Scope / Relevance
It is important that the source meets the information needs and requirements of your research assignment.
Currency / Date
Some written works are ageless (e.g., classic literature) while others (e.g., technology news or medical research) become outdated quickly. It is important to determine if currency is pertinent to your research.
Objectivity / Bias / Reliability
Every author has an opinion. Recognizing this is instrumental in determining if the information presented is objective or biased.
What is the purpose or motive for the source (educational, commercial, entertainment, promotional, etc.)?
Who is the intended audience?
Is the author pretending to be objective, but really trying to persuade, promote or sell something?
Style / Functionality
Style and functionality may be of lesser concern. However, if the source is not well-organized, its value is diminished.
The Deep Web (sometimes called the “invisible web”) refers to the vast amount of content and information -- thought to be at least 500 times larger than the visible Web -- that is not easily discoverable in a general search engine query. This information is hidden in databases, private networks, or password-protected information. While Google Scholar will reach some of these documents, it will not reach all of them. Literature reviews or serious research papers, by their very nature, require the researcher to dig deeper. There are a wide variety of high quality Deep Web search tools, search engines, and directories that can help you navigate these resources.
For more on the Deep Web and how to search it, visit Deep-Web.org. Also, be sure to check out this Online College Blog entry.
Google Scholar provides an easy way to search for scholarly literature across many disciplines and resources. Login to your Google (gmail) account, and you can set your Google Scholar preferences to show which articles are available through UIW Libraries and to export your citations to RefWorks!
Google Scholar should never be your first stop. It should always be your last resort. The databases to which we subscribe are purchased with some of your tuition dollars and they provide better depth and breadth than any free search engine can. Google Scholar may direct you to articles that want a fee; you'll never have to pay for articles you find in our databases or that we obtain for you through interlibrary loan.
Find Google Scholar at scholar.google.com
Aren't Google and Google Scholar basically the same? Won't I find the same results in Google Scholar as I would in Google?
The short answer to these questions is a resounding "No!"
Let's look at some examples. The same search was done using both products but the results are different.
Search term: hiking Pacific Coast Trail ("PCT")
Google results
Guide to hiking the Pacific Crest Trail - Pacific Crest Trail Association (https://www.pcta.org/take-a-hike)
[BOOK] Wild: From lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail C Strayed - 2012 - books.google.com
[PDF] The impact of footwear and packweight on injury and illness among long-distance hikers
[PDF] Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trail hikers: a comparison of benefits and motivations.
Analysis
As you can see, Google found three sites that are useful to people who are interested in actually hiking the PCT. Google Scholar found a book and two scholarly articles. While the book was a bestseller and can be easily found using Google as well, the articles examine something different: the first one examines how footwear and packweight impact long-distance hikers and the second compares the benefits and motivations for hikers of the Appalachian Trail to those hiking the PCT.
Additionally, Google Scholar displays how often scholarly article have been cited by other authors, offers links to all versions of the book or article and, if you've set your settings appropriately, will offer a link to ViewIt@UIW which gives entry into our databases directly to the article and a link to send the citation to your RefWorks account.