Google Scholar

What is Google Scholar?

It is a new search engine from Google which attempts to help users sort through the nearly limitless information available on the Internet, restricting results to information that is academic and scholarly in nature. Keep in mind that it is in “beta” stage, which means that it is very new, still in development, and undergoing a lot of changes.

How is it different from “regular” Google?

Google Scholar searches more specifically for what it considers “scholarly literature.” According to the Google Scholar website, you can find references to “peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research.” It works pretty much like Google, however, with a similar search page and features such as Advanced Search.

How does Google Scholar know something is “scholarly”?

Good question. Google isn’t saying a whole lot about how it defines and locates scholarly literature. This is from their website: “You’ll find works from a wide variety of academic publishers and professional societies, as well as scholarly articles available across the web.” But they don’t say what they are basing their determination of “scholarly” on. They appear to be assuming something about the scholarly nature of a document from the document’s origins. That is, who wrote it? Who published it? Learn more about scholarly literature.

Can I be sure that everything I find on Google Scholar is actually “scholarly”?

No. You will need to apply the same evaluation criteria to this information that you should for anything else. Learn more about scholarly literature and using the Internet for research.

Why would I use Google Scholar?

If you are used to “googling” as part of your academic research, Google Scholar would be a better choice than Google. Consider it a research tool, though, and not your only research tool! More research tips

Why would I not use Google Scholar?

Through ANE Library you have access to professionally designed, compiled, and organized subject databases where you can do scholarly research appropriate for graduate-level courses. These databases have done a more thorough job of indexing scholarly literature in a particular field, and have better search capabilities which enable you to do more efficient research.

ANE Library also has librarians on staff who can help you use these databases to their best advantage, saving you time and getting you the best results for your particular needs.

Many of the databases you have access to through ANE Library provide links to full text—more than you would find on Google Scholar.

Is Google Scholar full text?

You may find links to the full text of some articles or other documents through Google Scholar, but most likely you will only find citations and in some cases abstracts, with options to purchase the full text. Many of the articles Google Scholar indexes are available only through journal subscriptions, so the full text is not available for free online. Books would have to be either purchased or obtained from a library. Google Scholar is working on ways to link to libraries’ collections but so far this is not widely available.

So where do I find full text?

If you find a journal article on Google Scholar that is not available there in full text, check our Journals A-Z List to see if you have access to the journal through the library.

If you find a book title, check our online catalog to see if we own the book.

In general, if Google Scholar does not give you a link to FREE full text of a document, ask a librarian and we can help you locate it.

How do I get to Google Scholar?

Learn more from Google Scholar

Last Updated: 6/26/07