What is Google Scholar and what does it search?
Google Scholar is a web search engine that searches scholarly or academic resources. It is similar to Google, but it excludes non-scholarly web content. Here you can search for journal articles, books, patents, legal documents, reports, and much more. There is no easy way to separate journal articles from other sources such as reports, books, etc.
Are all the articles from Google Scholar free?
No, not all results from Google Scholar provide you with free access to the articles.
Many of the results from Google Scholar come from the open web, and many are available for free. However, you are also going to find many results that are locked behind a paywall. A paywall means that you either have to pay in order to access the full-text of the article, or you have to subscribe to the publication.
Do you recommend Google Scholar?
Google Scholar is a good starting point. And you can connect Google Scholar with our library collections. By connecting Google Scholar with our library, you will have additional access to full-text articles that may be located behind a paywall. See our guide on "How do I use Google Scholar to find more full-text articles"?
However, we recommend that you use the library databases instead. Our databases provide you with access to thousands of resources and give you better ways to help you focus or refine your search. Plus, you do not have to worry about the paywall.
How do I use Google Scholar?
- Go to Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/
- Enter your search terms
- Review your search results and click on an appropriate title
- Or click on the PDF or HTML access link located on the right side
- Use the tools below each article to see:
- A: citation formats
(use with caution, correct any errors in the citation) - B: other articles that have cited that article
- C: related articles
- D: different versions of the article
- A: citation formats
Limit Your Search Results by Publication Date
From your search results page, you can limit your results by date.
On the left side, click on the appropriate date or date range.
Sort Your Search Results by Date or by Relevance
Your search results are sorted by relevance. You can change the way the search results are sorted on the left side. You have the option to sort your results by publication date.
