Google Quick Tip #6

When you search Google Scholar, do you notice that the first result, which while may be relevant to your search terms, is not necessarily the most recently published? What's the deal with that?

GOOGLE QUICK TIP #6

The way Google works is that the most frequently linked to item rises to the top of the results. So, it's more like a popularity contest.

To re-rank your results to show the most current papers:

1. Click on the Recent articles link that's in the green menu bar above your results in Google Scholar
   
2. A box will appear to the right of the search box indicating that there's a date dropdown menu
   
3. Choose the most recent year or any other specific year you'd want to find
   

Of course, to be sure you've got THE most recently published scientific journal articles, search PubMed. Google Scholar usually is not caught up with PubMed's currency.

View this short demo

Science Citation Index's New Look

In a previous posting, I covered how to use the Science Citation Index database to find papers that have cited an article you find interesting. They recently updated their search interface, so there's no better time than the present to cover their new look.

There used to be an icon indicating the Cited Reference Search feature, but now it's displayed as a link in their menu bar.

View this short demo video.

There's also a more in-depth tutorial available.

PubMed Quick Tip #4

How to view the latest issue of a journal online


Instead of going to several publisher's websites(ie, http://jama.com or http://nejm.com), to view the latest issues online, you can view the latest journal issue using PubMed's Single Citation Matcher.

1. Link to Single Citation Matcher in the left menu bar of PubMed
2. Begin typing in the journal name and select the appropriate listing to auto-complete the title
3. Click "Go"
4. The latest articles will be listed at the top of the results list

Slideshare.net - Search for PPT presentations

In Google Quick Tip #2, I showed how you can run a Google search to find just PowerPoint (ppt) presentations. Imagine how excited I was to stumble upon Slideshare.net

Why's it so great?

1) It's a collection of user-posted ppt presentations
2) It's easy to search - just use the search box at the very top right
3) You can upload your own presentations to the site

I ran a search on the words teaching learning and got these results.
I searched on the words obesity diabetes and found a great CDC ppt with vital statistics on obesity.
To view a presentation in full screen mode, click on the icon under the slideshow.