Response #1
I have used both the SU Library and Google. With Google I can type what is arguably a very narrow search criteria and still find reputable articles on the topic I am interested in. Whereas with the SU Library I need a little more finesse when searching. Despite that, I find that the ability to refine searches based on genre, ie. book, journal article, website, etc. is very helpful when using the library databases. I was able to find a scholarly article at the library site but did not find anything from within the last three months. When I googled using the same key words, I was able to find articles from late June 2021. I am pretty good at researching on Google so will probably find the majority of what I need there. Primarily because there has been more discussion about my topic (equity and inclusion for Black workers) in the last year due to the murder of George Floyd and ensuing worldwide protests.
Response #2
I am hoping to find articles on the best strategies for implementing meaningful and lasting equity and inclusion for Black workers. I would like to make sure first-hand accounts of Black workers’ experiences are included as well as works of scholars who study and come up with solutions to these issues. I would love to find cases about companies that have successfully tackled the issue of making their companies more inclusive for Black employees. I am thinking about including articles that provide context through data regarding the state of Black employment as a whole and the state of employment of Black professionals in particular. I may also provide background on how Black people’s status in America informs their status as employees. The scholarly articles I find will most likely come from the SU Library database and the primary sources will probably come from Google since I want the most up-to-date reflections from Black employees.
Hi Sherri!
I can definitely relate to your google/SU database search tactics. It easier to search and locate things on google because you can be a lot more specific than on the SU database. I also think that google does have a bit of an advantage when it comes to finding more recent works since it provides way more sources in my opinion than the database. As for your topic I am really intrigued by your topic, I feel like it needs to be spoken about more. I also think that the inclusion of first hand accounts form Black workers will absolutely strengthen your writing. I also really like that you mentioned the inclusion of background information on the state of Black employment because I feel like it is not something than many people think about or are aware of.
As you and Oumou point out, Google’s AI-assisted natural language searching (which lets us ask for what we want in conversational terms) can make that platform feel more intuitive to users. The paywall you may bump into there, however, is a definite negative. Furthermore, it’s important to keep in mind that Google and the library’s academic databases are searching in different ‘buckets’–they catalog different sets of content, so they aren’t interchangeable.
So, we can use them for different purposes, as you’ve pointed out. Google is the go-to place for current events info and for the most up-to-date discussions of what’s happening in the world of work right now. There’s a lag between those events and the scholarly reflections/research about them, so it takes a few months for us to start seeing those discussions appear in the scholarly literature that these databases catalog. But since you’re looking for both kinds of material, both tools are really valuable.
Finally, keep in mind that they can complement one another in terms of access. Maybe you find something using Google but it’s behind a paywall. Try that title in SUMMON–the library may well give you free access to it (even if your searching there hadn’t turned it up because of the way you had framed your parameters).