More specifically, would any two Google Scholar search results entered at the same time with the same search criteria return the same results in the same order?
If not, where can I learn more about how it works?
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There are a few studies suggesting that Google Scholar search results are not replicable.
According to this study, the number of search results can vary "enormously between search strategies and dates".
Another study reports an ability to reproduce 80% of search results based on 21 systematic reviews that reported the use of Google Scholar.
This at least suggests that there are temporal variations; but I am not sure whether they also relate to personal (user-profile-based) variations (when searches are conducted simultaneously), and I haven't seen studies on that.
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Thanks! This study (not sure how representative) seems to find a small but perceptible effect when trying to detect variations due to user characteristics: researchgate.net/publication/… Commented Mar 23, 2021 at 13:42