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What is Google Scholar™?
"Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly
literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources:
peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic
publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities
and other scholarly organizations. Google Scholar helps you identify the
most relevant research across the world of scholarly research."1
Should I use Google Scholar™ for research?
Google Scholar is a straightforward and very user-friendly index of information.
It will help you develop an overview of your topic, find preliminary resources,
and even point you towards relevant material accessible, if not free online,
through your academic library. However, for serious, thorough, subject-specific
research, Google Scholar is not as well-equipped or advanced
as a subject-focused subscription database. Saint Mary's University subscribes
to many discipline-specific
databases, and you can access the scholarly information within for free.
In short, yes, you can use Google Scholar for research purposes, but don't
stop there.
Why should I search SMU's subscription databases instead of Google Scholar™?
Subject specific databases are relevant to, and created specifically for, your subject discipline. Databases have
tools that let you  better focus your searches, whereas Google Scholar does not. For example, PsycInfo allows you to limit your
results by population and age group; MedLine lets you limit by age groups and very specific types of medical publications; Business
Source Premier lets you browse through very business-specific publications, such as SWOT Analyses.
Also, a vast amount of scholarly knowledge is not included
in Google Scholar. Subject databases are much more comprehensive, reliable,
and current in the discipline-specific information they offer. Google Scholar
searches only a fraction of the published scholarly literature available,
and there is no information given about how often Google Scholar is updated.
Also note: some search results pulled by Google Scholar are
not necessarily scholarly! Distinguishing between Scholarly and Popular sources.
What works are available through Google Scholar™? Are they all free?
Google Scholar currently indexes peer-reviewed papers, books, abstracts,
conference proceedings, and dissertations. Subjects covered in Google Scholar
are wide ranging, with coverage generally stronger in science and technology
and weaker in the humanities. The coverage time frame is unknown.
The contents of Google Scholar are gathered when a publisher or scholarly information source gives Google permission to use
its "robot crawlers" to access its site. ("Crawlers" are used to scan content and pull results from billions of sites when
you conduct a Google search.) Google Scholar ranks the relevancy of your search results by, again, proprietary technology
that takes into account author and journal authority, article references in other works, and article content.
Some scholarly resources are available for free on the web. Many others are indexed (author, title, abstract available) but
available only through subscription or pay-to-view access.
What does the Beta in the logo mean?
Beta status means that Google Scholar is still in development. You may encounter some kinks or inconsistencies.
Google Scholar™: Advanced Search
Described below are several search options and limits offered on Google Scholar's Advanced Search page. Many are
self-explanatory.
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• Find Articles (the minty green-shaded box):
• with all of the words: all search terms must appear in your search results.
• with the exact phrase: similar to searching with quotations. Search phrase must appear exactly as you typed
in every hit included on your results list.
• with at least one of the words: similar to using the Boolean operator "OR." Search results can contain either
or both search terms.
• without the words: search results will not include any terms typed here. Same as using a minus sign
(-) search.
• where my words occur: limit your keyword search to only search the titles of articles. Careful, as this will cut out many
relevant results, unless you know the title of the article you want. Then this can function as a sort of title search.
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• Author:
• If you know the author of the desired article or paper, you can add their name to your search. This is very helpful when the
author's last name is also a commonly-used word, such as Brown or King. |
• Publication:
• Limit your search results to only include articles published in a certain journal. For instance, you can limit your search of
"corn smut" to only pull results from the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.
• Also keep in mind that journal titles can be spelled in different ways, so you may need to try a few combinations. Example:
Advances in Medical Sciences = Adv Med Sci |
• Date:
• Self-explanatory. Limit your results based on their publication date. If you are in a discipline that needs very current,
up-to-the-minute information (medicine or technology), this is a good limit to know about. |
• Subject Areas:
• Again, pretty self-explanatory. This is a general limiter restricts searches to publications based on what subject
discipline they fall under, as delineated by Google. |
Advanced Search Results
Google Scholar™ Library Links: Find it @ SMU
This free service tells you when a Google Scholar search result is available through Saint Mary's University. If a
resource is available at SMU, the text "Find it @ SMU" will appear next to the article title or under the citation in your results list. Follow that link
to access the resource. Library Links is handy for letting you know quickly whether or not your home library has access to a
subscription-only resource discovered through Google Scholar.
If you are using Google Scholar off-campus and you come across a resource available through "Find it @ SMU," you will need to enter
your SMU ID and password to access that material.
Also consider setting a Library Link preference to WorldCat. The link in the article result will say "Library Search." WorldCat is
a nationwide library catalog-if you find an interesting but unavailable book through Google Scholar,
WorldCat will tell you where the nearest copy of the book resides.
Setting Library Links preferences to SMU and WorldCat:
From the Google Scholar main page, select Scholar Preferences. Under Library Links, search for 'Saint Mary's
University of Minnesota.' Check the box next to "Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (Find it @ SMU)."
To set WorldCat as an additional preference, search for 'Open WorldCat.'
Check the box next to "Open WorldCat (Library Search)."
What is the purpose of the "Cited by" link in Google Scholar?
Clicking the 'Cited by' link under the search result citation opens a page
listing other scholarly articles and books that cited, or referenced, that
article. The resulting "cited by" list is a great place to find additional
works related to your research subject. Note: Google Scholar builds
its "cited by" list only from articles indexed within its database.
Want more information?
• Visit Google Scholar's Advanced Search Tips page.
• The Walker Management Library at Vanderbilt University has a very comprehesive, streamlined
Google Scholar page.
1Google. (2007). About Google
Scholar. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from http://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/about.html.
All screenshots & logos used with the written permission of Google.
Google Scholar™ not cutting it? Don't hesitate
to Contact Us
or
Make an Appointment if you need assistance.
Last revised: May 11, 2009
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