LibGuides: Find Information: Using Google Scholar

Using Google Scholar

Google Scholar [scholar.google.com] is different from Google. Google searches public web content - if your instructor says not to use Google, they probably mean they don't want you to use content from the public web. Google Scholar, however, searches journal and conference papers, theses and dissertations, academic books, pre-prints, abstracts, technical reports and other scholarly literature.

Is Google Scholar right for my research?

Google Scholar is useful for:

locating more information on partial citations. For example, Google Scholar can often find an article with just the title, and will provide the full citation and access to full text options once you have set up Google Scholar.
discovering keywords that define your topic.
helping a beginning researcher identify journal titles and authors connected with subjects of interest.
finding "gray literature" like conference proceedings. It includes many articles that wouldn't get included in other indexing services.
highlighting highly cited works on the topic.

Google Scholar cannot:

search with the accuracy of Library databases.
sort/search by disciplinary field.
browse by title.

Searching in Google Scholar is imprecise when compared with discipline-specific databases. If your research requires very comprehensive searching, or if you are not satisfied with Google Scholar's results, use individual research databases.

Using Google Scholar

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/

On-Campus? Google Scholar will automatically display links for access to the full text of search results.

Off Campus? Set Scholar Settings (From scholar.google.com , click on the Menu icon in the upper left corner and select "Settings") to configure Google Scholar to access UConn resources and enable exporting of citations to RefWorks.

image of upper left corner of Google Scholar homepage highlighting the dropdown menu icon (three parallel horizontal lines) next to "my profile" and "my library" links

Google Scholar homepage's dropdown menu with "Settings" link highlighted at bottom

If you do not see the word Settings, look for the cog icon.

Select Library Links from the Scholar Settings menu.

Sidebar of Google Scholar "settings" page, with "library links" link highlighted in between "languages" and "account".

Below the "Show library access links"
- enter UConn in search box and check the box next to "UConn - UConnFullText"
- check the box next to "Open WorldCat - Library Search"

UConn Law affiliates: check boxes for UConn Law - UConn Law Links and UConn - UConnFullText
UConn Health Center affiliates: check the box for LM Stowe Library at UConn Health (not UConnFullText - UConn Health's authentication is not interoperable with UConn's NetID)

Click SAVE to keep your changes.

Bibliography Managers (Optional)

To show links to import citations into selected bibliography managers:

From the Scholar Settings page, scroll down the page to Bibliography Manager.

Google Scholar homepage's dropdown menu with "Settings" link highlighted at bottom

under Bibliography Manager

Select "Show links to import citations into RefWorks. Other tools available are BibTeX, RefMan and EndNote.

"Bibliography manager" section on Google Scholar settings page. The section has two options, "Don't show any citation import links," which is deselected, and "show to link to import citations into RefWorks," which is selected. The second option has a dropdown menu with citation manager options, and "RefWorks" is selected and highlighted.

Click SAVE to keep your changes. blue "save" button on Google Scholar settings page

You can also export citations directly from the Cite screen.

Results in Google Scholar will be displayed with one of several notations:

UConnFullText, [PDF], [HTML], [DOC] - or have no notation at all.

If a notation is displayed, click the link to access the full text.

Screenshot of a search result on Google Scholar. On the right side of the screenshot, there is a highlighted link reading "UConn Full Text"

If no notation is displayed, click on the double arrows ">>" under the citation to display UConn Full Text

Screenshot of a Google Scholar search result. On the bottom line of the result, the last link, a double arrow shape, is highlighted.

Screenshot of Google Scholar search result showing the result of clicking the double arrow icon: the link "UConn Full Text" is now displayed and highlighted.

UConn Full Text may provide ways to access to the article, OR a link to request a copy through Interlibrary Services if we do not have online access.

If the access link does not work, or if there is no link, take your request directly to Interlibrary Services. This service obtains scans or loans of materials from other libraries, and is available without charge to UConn faculty, staff, and currently enrolled students.

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NOTE: links to non-UConn resources may inform you that you will have to pay to see the full text. Don't pay! You can generally obtain any Google Scholar result free through the UConn Library's sources, such as databases, UConn WorldCat, the Library's General Search or by ordering the paper, article, thesis, book, etc. from Interlibrary Services.

The Cited by link under the Google Scholar citation is another way to expand your search and find more relevant articles. When you click on the Cited by link, you will find other publications that cite the article.

Screenshot of a Google Scholar search result. On the bottom line of the result, the link "cited by 753" is highlighted.

You can also search within the publications that cite the article. Select the checkbox that says "Search within citing articles" and add additional terms to narrow your search.

Screenshot of Google Scholar results shown after clicking "Cited by" on a search result. A box beneath the title of the search result reads "Search within citing articles" and is checked and highlighted. A search bar above the search result is highlighted.

To refine your search results, use the limit options to the left of your search results.

Screenshot of left sidebar of Google Scholar search results showing search limit options, including options to filter by date, sorting by relevance or date, and options to include patents and citations

To use Google Scholar Advanced Search options, click on the menu icon in the top left corner of the Google Scholar homepage.

Screenshot of upper left corner of Google Scholar homepage, highlighting the dropdown menu button

Click on "Advanced Search".

Screenshot of Google Scholar homepage dropdown menu, with the "advanced search" link highlighted

Advanced Search lets you search in the author, title, and publication fields, as well as limit your search results by date.

Screenshot of advanced search page on Google Scholar, showing options to customize searching by words or phrases, and searching by author, journal title, and date range

Related articles: find articles on the same topic as the citation

All # versions: find other versions of the article found on the internet

Cite: click on the Quotation Mark icon to open the Cite Window. Copy and Paste the formatted citation or use one of the links to import the citation into a bibliography manager such as RefWorks.

Screenshot of bottom line of Google Scholar search result, highlighting the quotation mark icon and the "import into RefWorks" link

Screenshot of citation generation page resulting from clicking the quotation mark icon. Generated citations for MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, and Vancouver styles are shown. The "RefWorks" link at the bottom of the page is highlighted next to links to BibTeX, EndNote, and RefMan

Search Google Scholar

Using Google Scholar
Configure Google Scholar
Access UConn materials from Google Scholar. Check off UConn-UConn Full Text and Save

Find Information — Using Google Scholar

Using Google Scholar

Using Google Scholar

Search Google Scholar