{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,7]],"date-time":"2026-02-07T22:07:59Z","timestamp":1770502079902,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":10,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2007,6,26]],"date-time":"2007-06-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1182816000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2007,6,26]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Purpose<\/jats:title><jats:p>This paper aims to understand how students experience the search tools Google Scholar and Metalib and the role of prior instruction.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title><jats:p>A total of 32 undergraduate students searched academic articles for their thesis work. Searches were recorded using Morae software and were analysed along with the number of articles saved and responses to a questionnaire. All searched with both tools. Half of the students received training before searching.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p>Google Scholar performed better in almost all measures. Training had a positive effect on the amount and quality of articles saved. Responses to Google Scholar were more positive than to Metalib. However, the students were not overwhelmingly enthusiastic about either of the tools. <jats:bold><jats:bold>Research limitations\/implications<\/jats:bold><\/jats:bold> \u2013 Each Metalib implementation is to some extent unique, which limits the extent to which results can be generalised to other implementations.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Practical implications<\/jats:title><jats:p>Training is valuable for both tools. The user interface to Metalib does not conform with students' expectations and needs further improvement. Both tools strive to be a first alternative search tool for academic literature but neither performed well enough in this study to recommend it to be used in that role in an academic library setting.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title><jats:p>These tools are important to academic libraries but few user studies have been published, particularly on Google Scholar. To one's knowledge no other user study on these tools has looked at the effects of instruction.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/14684520710764122","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2007,6,19]],"date-time":"2007-06-19T10:57:39Z","timestamp":1182250659000},"page":"365-375","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["Metalib and Google Scholar: a user study"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"31","author":[{"given":"Glenn","family":"Haya","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Else","family":"Nygren","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Wilhelm","family":"Widmark","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"key":"key2022030820044519800_b1","unstructured":"Cervone, F. (2005), \u201cWhat we've learned from doing usability testing on OpenURL resolvers and federated search engines\u201d, Computers in Libraries, Vol. 25 No. 9, pp. 10\u201015."},{"key":"key2022030820044519800_b2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Feeney, M. and Newby, J. (2005), \u201cModel for presenting resources in Scholar's portal\u201d, Portal: Libraries and the Academy, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 195\u2010211.","DOI":"10.1353\/pla.2005.0022"},{"key":"key2022030820044519800_b3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gardner, S. and Eng, S. (2005), \u201cGaga over Google? Scholar in the social sciences\u201d, Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 22 No. 8, pp. 42\u20103.","DOI":"10.1108\/07419050510633952"},{"key":"key2022030820044519800_b4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Giustini, D. and Barsky, E. (2005), \u201cA look at Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scirus: comparisons and recommendations\u201d, JCHLA\/JABSC, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 85\u20109.","DOI":"10.5596\/c05-030"},{"key":"key2022030820044519800_b5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jacs\u00f3, P. (2005), \u201cGoogle Scholar: the pros and the cons\u201d, Online Information Review, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 208\u201014.","DOI":"10.1108\/14684520510598066"},{"key":"key2022030820044519800_b6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Neuhaus, C., Neuhaus, E., Asher, A. and Wrede, C. (2006), \u201cThe depth and breadth of Google Scholar: an empirical study\u201d, Portal: Libraries and the Academy, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 127\u201041.","DOI":"10.1353\/pla.2006.0026"},{"key":"key2022030820044519800_b7","unstructured":"Nygren, E., Haya, G. and Widmark, W. (2006), Students' Experience of Metalib and Google Scholar, available at: www.diva\u2010portal.org\/diva\/getDocument?urn_nbn_se_su_diva\u20101264\u20102__fulltext.pdf (accessed 3 October 2006)."},{"key":"key2022030820044519800_b8","unstructured":"Sadeh, T. (2006), \u201cGoogle Scholar versus metasearch systems\u201d, High Energy Physics Libraries Webzine, Vol. 12, February, p. 2006."},{"key":"key2022030820044519800_b9","unstructured":"Stubbings, R. and Hamblin, Y. (2003), \u201cThe implementation of MetaLib and SFX at Loughborough University Library: a case study\u201d, available at: http:\/\/magpie.lboro.ac.uk\/dspace\/handle\/2134\/174 (accessed 4 September 2006)."},{"key":"key2022030820044519800_b10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tallent, E. (2004), \u201cMetasearching in Boston College Libraries \u2013 a case study of user reactions\u201d, New Library World, Vol. 105 Nos 1\/2, pp. 69\u201075.","DOI":"10.1108\/03074800410515282"}],"container-title":["Online Information Review"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/www.emeraldinsight.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1108\/14684520710764122","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/14684520710764122\/full\/xml","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/14684520710764122\/full\/html","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,25]],"date-time":"2025-07-25T00:40:48Z","timestamp":1753404048000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/www.emerald.com\/oir\/article\/31\/3\/365-375\/314543"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2007,6,26]]},"references-count":10,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2007,6,26]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1108\/14684520710764122"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/14684520710764122","relation":{},"ISSN":["1468-4527"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1468-4527","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2007,6,26]]}}}