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ERIC Number: EJ1288342
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Mar
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1759-2879
EISSN: N/A
Commentary to Gusenbauer and Haddaway 2020: Evaluating Retrieval Qualities of Google Scholar and PubMed
Klopfenstein, D. V.; Dampier, Will
Research Synthesis Methods, v12 n2 p126-135 Mar 2021
We read with considerable interest the study by Gusenbauer and Haddaway (Gusenbauer and Haddaway, 2020, Research Synthesis Methods, doi:10.1002/jrsm.1378) comparing the systematic search qualities of 28 search systems, including Google Scholar (GS) and PubMed. Google Scholar and PubMed are the two most popular free academic search tools in biology and chemistry, with GS being the number one search tool in the world. Those academics using GS as their principal system for literature searches may be unaware of research which enumerates five critical features for scientific literature tools that greatly influenced Gusenbauer's 2020 study. Using this list as the framework for a targeted comparison between just GS and PubMed, we found stark differences which overwhelmingly favored PubMed. In this comment, we show that by comparing the characteristics of the two search tools, features that are particularly useful in one search tool, but are missing in the other, are strikingly spotlighted. One especially popular feature that ubiquitously appears in GS, but not in PubMed, is the forward citation search found under every citation as a clickable "Cited by N" link. We seek to improve the PubMed search experience using two approaches. First, we request that PubMed add "Cited by N" links, making them as omnipresent as the GS links. Second, we created an open-source command-line tool, "pmidcite," which is used alongside PubMed to give information to researchers to help with the choice of the next paper to examine, analogous to how GS's "Cited by N" links help to guide users. Find "pmidcite" at https://github.com/dvklopfenstein/pmidcite. [For the original study, "Which Academic Search Systems Are Suitable for Systematic Reviews or Meta-Analyses? Evaluating Retrieval Qualities of Google Scholar, PubMed, and 26 Other Resources," see EJ1253055.]
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A