Google Scholar is not so Scholarly

Students using Google Scholar for their academic research are in for a rude awakening.  Google Scholar does not vet (eg verify their sources, not peer/scholar-review, etc) their "scholarly" articles.  It could be totally bogus research.  Bolding and underlining are mine, not the NYT.  

"...but Google Scholar does not vet the journals it indexes.  The journals are giving rise to a wider ecosystem of pseudo science. For the academic who wants to add credentials to a résumé, for instance, publishers also hold meetings where, for a hefty fee, you can be listed as a presenter — whether you actually attend the meeting or not" (Kolata).   Reading the whole article, it's obvious that there are many ways to "pad" your resume with fake academic accolades.

Fake news has, unsurprisingly, permeated into fake research articles. 

Image taken from the New York Times, Oct 30 2017.

This underscores the need for cross-referencing your sources, and using REAL databases, such as JSTOR, EbscoHost and ProQuest.  Our school has a school membership with the National Library Board, and this includes access to over 101 authoritative and specialised databases and ebooks.  Access is possible 24/7 for most of these sources.

Furthermore, it is really obvious to me as a supervisor, both Extended Essay (EE) and Personal Project, when students have searched Google Scholar and read only the abstract.  There is an absence of in-depth knowledge of the article, both in the EE when it is cited in-text, and when I verbally asked them for further details.  

Academic rigour and variety of sources is required to fulfil the 12 marks for Criterion C for Critical Thinking (Research) and 6 marks for Criterion E: Engagement (Research Focus),  That's a total of 18 marks out of 34, 53% of the total marks possible.  See the assessment overview table below. 

Students will need to click more than 2 times to find the appropriate and relevant sources.  

Source: International Baccalaureate Organization. 2017.

Sources 

International Baccalaureate Organization.”Assessment: Overview.”  Guide Extended Essay. International Baccalaureate Organization, Oct 2017b, .https://ibpublishing.ibo.org/extendedessay/apps/dpapp/tsm.html?doc=d_0_eeyyy_gui_1602_1_e&part=2&chapter=2&query=abstract#N1_3_7_2_4_4_6_3_3_1.   Accessed on Nov 4 2017.

​Kolata, Gina. "Science: Many Academics Are Eager to Publish in Worthless Journals". New York Times.  New York Times, Oct 30 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/30/science/predatory-journals-academics.html.  Accessed on Nov 2 2017.