PurposeThis study examines the use of the search engine, Google Scholar, from the perspective of a specific study group, that of international postgraduate students. Based on the theory of task perceived performance and effort expectancy influencing intention to use, further factors of system, individual, social and organisational, in the postgraduate student context are explored.Design/methodology/approachThe questionnaire for the measurement of 11 factors was developed from related studies of e-library use, and data were collected from 200 international postgraduate students studying in the UK. Analysis using confirmatory factor analysis established the contextual influencing factors, and structural equation modeling examined the predicted model.FindingsThe findings confirmed the influence of the task-based factors of performance and expectancy and revealed that these were based on the perception of the visibility, accessibility and relevance of the system, and on perceived self-efficacy. The perception postgraduates held of themselves as competent users of Google Scholar was further borne out in the participants' own words when asked for the reason for their preference.Originality/valueThe approach taken enables research into use of search tools to go beyond ease of use as a main driver and to explore the relationship held among the internal and external influences of use. Recommendations for further user research are suggested as well as possible impact on the university library provision and support of services for students.

Google Scholar has become an important search platform for students in higher education, and, as such, can be regarded as a competitor to university libraries. Previous research has explored students’ intention to use Google Scholar (GS) and University Digital Libraries (UDLs), but there is a lack of comparative studies that explore students’ preferences between these two platforms. Therefore, this study seeks to explore the search behaviour of a select group of users, international postgraduate students and more specifically compares the factors that influence their use of Google Scholar and University Digital Libraries (UDLs). A questionnaire-based survey, based on the factors in the UTAUT model (unified theory of acceptance and use of technology) was conducted to collect data on acceptance and use of technology of GS and UDL’s respectively. Data was collected from 400 international postgraduate students studying in the United Kingdom. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to establish the contextual influencing factors, whilst structural equation modelling examined the predicted model. The results suggest some differences between the influence of various factors between the UDL dataset and the GS datasets. They suggest that social influence (SI) did not affect behavioural intention (BI) for either data set, but that for the UDL dataset, effort expectancy did not affect BI, whereas for the GS dataset facilitating conditions did not influence BI. The approach taken in this study further facilitates research into the use of search tools to progress beyond ease of use as a main driver and to explore the relationship between internal and external influences of use. Recommendations for further research are suggested and the value of the insights gained for UDLs and their provision and support for all students is discussed.