Microsoft Launches Academic Search
Microsoft has given its answer to Google Scholar with a beta version of Windows Live Academic Search designed for students and researchers. The service has indexed a spectrum of academic journals and peer-reviewed content, and is intended to aid with research.
While the beta release focuses on the topics of computer science, electrical engineering and physics, Microsoft plans to bring new subjects online in the near future. The company has partnered with the IEEE, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and publishers Elsevier and John Wiley & Sons, along with a number of other groups.
CrossRef, a not-for-profit organization that works with publishers to ensure reliable reference linking, has collaborated with Microsoft on Windows Live Academic Search. The group plans to bring more content into the service as it progresses.
Features of the new service include a preview pane for viewing the abstract of a result by hover the mouse over a link; sorting of results by author, journal, conference and date; built-in citation support; and links to the full text of an article located on a publisher's Web site.
"By working with academic publishers and customers and understanding their needs, we have been able to create a unique offering to the marketplace that is a win-win for consumers and our content providers," commented Danielle Tiedt, general manager of Windows Live Premium Search.
Like its other Live search offerings, a slider enables customers to control the amount of information they see contained in each result listing. In addition, users can setup macros to finely tune search results and subscribe to RSS feeds of a specific topic and author.
"We are looking forward to hearing from our customers during this beta period, which will help us improve upon what is available today," Tiedt added.