What to do when Google Scholar searches stop working

[Jon]

When you download many references from Google Scholar in a short period of time Google may think you're a data-gathering bot and deny access. Suddenly your searches will return "No matches". Here is a rather extensive thread on this topic.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3334

I was recently sent a good solution to this problem, which I pass along. Thanks to G.U. for sending this in.

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I noticed in the forums that some people have had a similar problem in that Google Scholar “thinks” the user might be a robot and terminates the ability to perform searches. I think I may have a solution. I didn’t see anyone else pointing to it so thought I’d pass along.

I encountered the ‘no results’ when searching using google scholar using the online search tool within Bookends. When I tried the lower right hand button to bring up the GS website it made me run through the image “game” to prove I wasn’t a robot. I kept screwing up so that wasn’t working. I noticed that there is a sign-in link in the top right hand corner of the website. I used my google account login and voila! I could do searches using the webpage and within the online search tool of Bookends. No need to indefinitely wait for google scholar to “forget about it” and let you search again if you have a google account. I don’t know if that removes the N-reference download “are you a robot” trigger or not, but it seems to have lifted the immediate ban at any rate.
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Jon
Sonny Software

[lbowman]

This solution worked for me, briefly, but now Google Scholar is no longer working again (at least, three days in four it does not work.) Has anyone got any backup solutions?

[Jon]

To clarify, no searches are working for you, right? Not just Google Scholar, but also JSTOR, CrossRef, and PubMed (please check the last if you haven't already). And you're speaking of Autocomplete Paper, right? I presume Online Search fails, too?

Jon
Sonny Software

[lbowman]

It is an intermittent problem. You're right that it seems to be connected to the Google Scholar returning no hits issue, which is also intermittent. When I sign into Google Scholar in the Bookends Browser, if I'm not signed in, then it will give me hits for a little while, and at that time I can also get hits on the Auto-complete PDFs function. When Google Scholar is not returning hits - either because I'm not signed in or because it doesn't like me anymore - then I also can't get any results from JStor, PubMed, or Crossref. When Google Scholar is returning hits, at least some of the others ones do too.

[mebiel]

I'm having the same issue. A couple of weeks ago I couldn't search Google Scholar but could with PubMed then it started working again - not sure why. For the last two days it's been the same thing (can't search via Google Scholar but it's ok with PubMed). I'm currently using Bookends 12.8.3. It doesn't seem to matter whether or not I'm signed in to Google.

[Jon]

They may have changed their output. I'll have to take a look.

Jon
Sonny Software

[Jon]

For some reason Google thinks that all of a sudden queries from Bookends are automated. We saw this happen a few months ago, and after a day or so the problem disappeared. We'll see if Google resolves this, and if not try to find a way around it.

Jon
Sonny Software

[Jon]

Please download 12.8.3 again (if you bought from us, not the Mac App Store), I uploaded a silent update that fixes this.

Jon
Sonny Software

[mebiel]

Great. Thanks!