Guides: How to Search: Tools and Strategies for Scholarly Teaching and Research: Choose Your Search Tools

Understanding "Academic" Search: Fundamentals for Choosing a Tool

Academic search tools are search engines and platforms that retrieve information about “academic” sources (e.g. scholarly books, peer-reviewed articles, policy documents), often with filters for date, format, and more.

Every search tool has strengths and limitations. In most cases, you will need to use multiple tools to find the information you need. In general, the openness of a tool (e.g. Google Scholar) comes with trade-offs in term of structure (i.e. ability to refine results) and quality (i.e. the vetting of content that appears in results). Below are key criteria to consider when choosing a tool:

🔎 Discovery - How well the tool helps you find relevant information of what sources exist, which depends in part of factors like indexing depth and metadata quality)	Finding that a source exists is distinct from getting access to it. Many tools, including the Library Search, allow you to expand results beyond what is immediately available in the Library's print or online collections.
🔓 Access - Whether you can open, read, or download what you find; access may require an institutional license/subscription or interlibrary loan request.	For sources you have discovered but are not immediately available, use SAIT’s interlibrary loan service to request access.
🧭 Search functionality and structure - The power and precision of search, typically enabled by factors like indexing depth, controlled vocabulary, semantic/AI functionality, and results ranking.	Take advantage of the distinct ways academic search tools are structured, with a variety of options to target your search and refine your results.
🗂️ Coverage of content - The range and types of content, which may vary according to disciplinary scope, publication format, and depth of indexing.	Consider the formats and platforms where the conversation you are entering takes place, such as research studies, policy documents, or industry magazines.
✅ Quality control - How the information is curated and restricted from appearing in results (or not), through direct selection, peer review, editorial oversight, publisher credibility, and similar elements	Be cautious when using tools like Google Scholar, which has minimal restrictions in what is indexed and retrieved; fake sources and low-quality research can appear in results.

Comparing Search Tools: Key Platforms and How to Access

Search Tool

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Full-Text Databases

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Platforms that both index and provide access to content, typically focused on a single format, discipline, and/or subject area.

Citation / Abstract Databases

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Specialized databases that index scholarly literature with robust metadata for comprehensive, structured searching and advanced research analysis via functions such as citation tracing, impact trends, and author networks. Notable platforms include Scopus and Web of Science.

Library Search / Catalog

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A discovery tool that searches a library’s local print and licensed online collections, including books, ebooks, media, and articles.

Google Scholar

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A free web search engine that discovers scholarly content across disciplines and highlights highly-cited and influential works.

Semantic Scholar

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An AI-powered academic search engine that retrieves academic research papers with a heavy focus on STEM and social sciences.

Academic AI Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) Search Engines

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Tools that combine a search engine with RAG and large language model (LLM) functionality, which provides some preliminary summary and synthesis but is limited to openly available content online.